ten o'clock
Sometimes Mrs. Parker and Loretta made an early trip to Church , but even then they wore only long cloaks over very informal attire , and joined the others , in wrappers , upon their return . Loitering over coffee and toast , in the sunny dining-room , the morning wasted away . The newspapers were idly discussed , various scraps of the house gossip went the rounds . Many a time , before her entrance into the business world , Susan had known this pleasant idleness to continue until ten o'clock , until eleven o'clock , while the room , between the stove inside and the winter sunshine outside , grew warmer and warmer , and the bedrooms upstairs waited in every stage of appalling disorder and confusion . Nowadays Susan ran downstairs just before eight o'clock , to gulp down her breakfast , with one eye on the clock . The clatter of a cable car passing the corner meant that Susan had just time to pin on her hat , seize her gloves and her lunch , and catch the next cable-car . She flashed through the dreary little entrance yard , past other yards , past the bakery , and took her seat on the dummy breathless with her hurry , exhilarated by the morning freshness of the air , and filled with happy expectation for the new day .