eight o'clock
murmured Sir Reginald , with a sigh . * * * * * All through the night the drizzling rain fell fast , and on the morning of the 26th , when the gentlemen at the manor-house rectory went to their windows to look out upon the weather , they were gratified by finding that southerly wind and cloudy sky so dear to the heart of a huntsman . At half-past eight o'clock the whole party assembled in the dining-room , where breakfast was prepared . Many gentlemen living in the neighbourhood had been invited to breakfast at the rectory ; and the great quadrangle of the stables was crowded by grooms and horses , gigs and phaetons , while the clamour of many voices rang out upon the still air . Every one seemed to be thoroughly happy -- except Reginald Eversleigh . He was amongst the noisiest of the talkers , the loudest of the laughers ; but the rector , who watched him closely , perceived that his face was pale , his eyes heavy as the eyes of one who had passed a sleepless night , and that his laughter was loud without mirth , his talk boisterous , without real cheerfulness of spirit .