Five o'clock
The fatal hour came unawares , one calm September afternoon , about six weeks after Violet 's return from Jersey . Captain Winstanley had been reading one of Tennyson 's idyls to his wife , till she sank into a gentle slumber . He left her , with Pauline seated at work by one of the windows , and went to his study to write some letters . Five o'clock was the established hour for kettledrum , but of late the invalid had been unable to bear even the mild excitement of two or three visitors at this time . Violet now attended alone to her mother 's afternoon tea , kneeling by her side as she sipped the refreshing infusion , and coaxing her to eat a waferlike slice of bread-and-butter , or a few morsels of sponge-cake . This afternoon , when Violet went softly into the room , carrying the little Japanese tray and tiny teapot , she found her mother lying just as the Captain had left her an hour before . `` She 's been sleeping so sweetly , miss , '' whispered Pauline .