ten o'clock
She 's writing letters in my room , Now here 's a book , and you _ may _ read , but I should prefer you to sleep , '' she nodded brightly as she went out and shut the door quietly . Then , like the guilty conspirator she was , she went down-stairs to wait for Arkwright . It was a fine plan . Arkwright was due at ten o'clock -- Billy had specially asked him to come at that hour . He would not know , of course , that Alice Greggory was in the house ; but soon after his arrival Billy meant to excuse herself for a moment , slip up-stairs and send Alice Greggory down for a book , a pair of scissors , a shawl for Aunt Hannah -- anything would do for a pretext , anything so that the girl might walk into the living-room and find Arkwright waiting for her alone . And then -- What happened next was , in Billy 's mind , very vague , but very attractive as a nucleus for one 's thoughts , nevertheless . All this was , indeed , a fine plan ; but -- -LRB- If only fine plans would not so often have a `` but '' ! -RRB-