ten minutes to eight
`` Where on earth can she be ? '' exclaimed Mrs. Clinton . Punctuality at meals being so rigidly observed it was unprecedented that Cicely should not have begun to dress at a quarter to eight . At ten minutes to eight Mrs. Clinton was convinced that some accident had befallen her . At five minutes to , she tapped at the door of the Squire 's dressing-room . `` Edward , '' she called , `` Cicely has not come home yet . '' `` Come in !