about two o'clock in the
afternoon
There was no particular friendship between Akim and him , nor was there any hostility noticed between them ; Akim did not take much notice of him and only thought of him as a sharp young fellow who was rapidly making his way in the world . He did not suspect Avdotya 's real feelings and went on believing in her as before . Two years passed like this . One summer day it happened that Lizaveta Prohorovna -- who had somehow suddenly grown yellow and wrinkled during those two years in spite of all sorts of unguents , rouge and powder -- about two o'clock in the afternoon went out with her lap dog and her folding parasol for a stroll before dinner in her neat little German garden . With a faint rustle of her starched petticoats , she walked with tiny steps along the sandy path between two rows of erect , stiffly tied-up dahlias , when she was suddenly overtaken by our old acquaintance Kirillovna , who announced respectfully that a merchant desired to speak to her on important business . Kirillovna was still high in her mistress 's favour -LRB- in reality it was she who managed Madame Kuntse 's estate -RRB- and she had some time before obtained permission to wear a white cap , which gave still more acerbity to the sharp features of her swarthy face . `` A merchant ? ''