quarter to nine
I wish I 'd turned out the lights and let 'em knock . And there was that story you were going to read , and now it 's too late ! '' `` Why , no ; it 's not too late at all , '' said Julia Cloud , consulting her little watch in the firelight . `` It 's only quarter to nine , and I 'm sure we can indulge ourselves a little to-night , and finish the story before we go to bed . Turn the light on , and get the magazine . '' With an air of finality Julia Cloud put aside the debated question , and settled herself in the big willow chair by the lamp with her book . Leslie went back to her chair by the fire , and Allison flung himself down on the couch with a pillow half over his eyes ; but anybody watching closely would have seen that his eyes were wide open and he was studying the calm , quiet profile of his aunt 's sweet face as she read in a gentle , even tone , paragraph after paragraph without a flicker of disturbance on her brow .