five minutes to eight
Great Titchfield Street , from eight o'clock in the morning till nearly eight at night , appeared to be enveloped in a dense fog , with Madame showing none of the distraction of mind natural to one on the edge of a financial crisis , and Bunny conveying friendliness by nods and furtive winks ; the girls , as always , chattered freely of their small romances , not concealing their derisive attitude towards young men , excepting as means of escort and paymasters where sweets and tram-tickets were involved ; any slackening of attention in these details , and dark hints were given of an intention of giving the sack . Listening , Gertie came to the conclusion that her own case was unique , in that she had allowed Henry Douglass to assume the position of autocrat . One of the men who worked the netting machine spoke to her exultantly of wisdom in managing his wife ; the method adopted was , it seemed , to contradict every blessed thing she said . On the top of all this comes Frederick Bulpert , encountered near Queen 's Hall one evening at five minutes to eight , trying to make up his mind whether to spend a shilling on a promenade concert or to disburse the money on a steak -- Bulpert very glad to meet Gertie , because he has something to say to her that he can not speak of to any one else ; something which must be regarded -LRB- says Frederick -RRB- as strictly _ entre nous _ . A spot of rain , and the stout young man says with a reckless air , `` Oh , come on in ! '' and Gertie agrees to accompany him , with two provisions : first , that she shall be allowed to pay for herself ; second -LRB- because aunt has a new trick of requiring every minute between Great Titchfield Street and Praed Street to be accounted for -RRB- , that Frederick will see her home later to the shop . Gertie thinks a dose of music will do her as much good as anything .