eight o'clock precisely
I was standing there in my short jacket , staring at the floor , like a man under sentence of death . Zinaïda 's treatment of me had crushed me utterly . What was my astonishment , when , as she passed me , she whispered quickly with her former kind expression in her eyes : ` Come to see us at eight , do you hear , be sure ... ' I simply threw up my hands , but already she was gone , flinging a white scarf over her head . At eight o'clock precisely , in my tail-coat and with my hair brushed up into a tuft on my head , I entered the passage of the lodge , where the princess lived . The old servant looked crossly at me and got up unwillingly from his bench . There was a sound of merry voices in the drawing-room . I opened the door and fell back in amazement .