one o'clock
It was not her mother , truly , who had asked him , it was the girl herself ; and he was conscious , as a candid young American , that a mother is always less accessible , more guarded by social prejudice , than a daughter . But he was at a pass in which it was permissible to strain a point , and he took his way in the direction in which he knew that Cambridge lay , remembering that Miss Tarrant 's invitation had reference to that quarter and that Mrs. Luna had given him further evidence . Had she not said that Verena often went back there for visits of several days -- that her mother had been ill and she gave her much care ? There was nothing inconceivable in her being engaged at that hour -LRB- it was getting to be one o'clock -RRB- in one of those expeditions -- nothing impossible in the chance that he might find her in Cambridge . The chance , at any rate , was worth taking ; Cambridge , moreover , was worth seeing , and it was as good a way as another of keeping his holiday . It occurred to him , indeed , that Cambridge was a big place , and that he had no particular address . This reflexion overtook him just as he reached Olive 's house , which , oddly enough , he was obliged to pass on his way to the mysterious suburb .