three o'clock
And , no matter what happens , it ca n't be any hotter afterward than it is now . '' Somehow soothed by this cynical reflection , she sat up , mopped her flushed forehead with a handkerchief of which she was not proud , and drank thirstily of her tumbler of ice-water . The grateful draft reminded her that she had actually been athirst ever since noon . It was now almost three o'clock -- thanks to which fact she might eat in the comparative comfort of a lunchroom which boasted no patron other than herself . But she was little appreciative of this boon ; she comprehended her surroundings with just a little languid resentment of their smug cleanliness and their atmosphere impregnated with effluvia of cheap edibles . But if these seemed offensive she would have been willing to overlook them on certain conditions -- as she proved when the waitress reappeared with her order . `` I do n't suppose -- '' Miss Manvers began , but hesitated .