nearly four o'clock
Before now , Elgar had confessed to a friend that he could n't read the marriage-column in a newspaper without feeling a distinct jealousy of all the male creatures there mentioned . He sought out a _ caffe _ , and sat there for an hour , drinking a liquor that called itself lacryma-Christi , but would at once have been detected for a pretender by a learned palate . He drank it for the first time , and tried to enjoy it , but his mind kept straying to alien things . When it was nearly four o'clock , he again went forth , took a carriage , and bade the man drive quickly . This time he was successful . A servant conducted him by many stairs and passages to Mrs. Lessingham 's sitting-room . He entered , and found himself alone with Cecily .