nearly eight o'clock
It was not worth while , he said to himself , to make any radical change in his way of life : Lesley must accommodate herself , if she could , to his habits ; and if she could not , she must go back to her mother . He was not prepared , he told himself , to alter his hours , or his friendships , or his peculiarities one whit for Lesley 's sake . Lesley arrived an hour later than the time at which she had been expected . It was nearly eight o'clock when her cab stopped at the door of the house in Upper Woburn Place , and the evening was foggy and cold . To Lesley , fresh from the clear skies and air of a French city , street , house , and atmosphere alike seemed depressing . The chimes of St. Pancras ' church , woefully out of tune , fell on her ear , and made her shiver as she mounted the steps that led to the front door . How dear they were to grow to her in time she did not then suspect , nor would have easily believed !