one o’clock
I assumed the command at once , pointing out to what heaps in the other room those I had grouped in this were to be added , and giving strict injunctions as to carrying only a few at once , and laying them down with care in regularly ordered piles . Clara obeyed with a mock submission , Miss Brotherton with a reserve which heightened the impression of her dress . I was instinctively careful how I spoke to Clara , fearing to compromise her , but she seemed all at once to change her _ rôle _ , and began to propose , object , and even insist upon her own way , drawing from me the threat of immediate dismission from my service , at which her companion laughed with an awkwardness showing she regarded the pleasantry as a presumption . Before one o'clock , the first room was almost empty . Then the great bell rang , and Clara , coming from the auxiliary chamber , put her head in at the door . ` Wo n't you come to luncheon ? ' she said , with a sly archness , looking none the less bewitching for a smudge or two on her lovely face , or the blackness of the delicate hands which she held up like two paws for my admiration .