three o'clock
That woman playing the virginal is not ugly ; if she were dressed like these seated under the colonnade , she would be quite as pretty ; but she is not as clever , Owen would say , or she would n't be playing the virginal in a village . It is strange how I remember everything he says . '' She thought of herself as the lady in the centre , the one that looked like the queen , and to whom a tall young man in a lovely cloak was being introduced , and then imagined herself one of the less important ladies who , for the sake of her beautiful voice , would be surrounded and admired by all men ; she would create bitter jealousies and annoy a number of women , which , however , she would endeavour to overcome by giving back to them the several lovers whom she did not want for herself . The life in this picture would be hers if she took the three o'clock train and went to Berkeley Square . The life in the other picture would be hers if she remained in Dulwich . Only one more hour remained between her and the moment when she would be getting into the train , and on going out of the gallery her senses all seemed awake at the same moment ; she saw and felt and heard with equal distinctness , and she seemed to be walking automatically , to be moving forward as if on wheels . She met a friend on her way home , but it was like talking to one across a river or gulf ; she wondered what she had said , and hardly heard , on account of the tumult within her , what was being said to her .