and one o'clock
`` I could not be happy unless you liked him , and you do . '' All through the morning the two friends sat together in the great drawing-room talking , as such women can talk to each other , with infinite grace about matters not worth recording , or if they spoke of things of greater importance , repeating the substance of what they had said before , finding at each repetition some new comment to make , some new point upon which to agree , after the manner of people who are very fond of each other . The hours slipped by , and they were unconscious of the lapse of time . The great clocks of the neighbouring church towers tolled eleven , twelve , and one o'clock , and yet they had more to say , and did not even notice the loud ringing of the hundred bells . The day was clear , and the bright sunlight streamed in through the high windows , telling the hour with a more fateful precision than the clocks outside . All was peace and happiness and sweet intercourse , as the two women sat there undisturbed through the long morning . They talked , and laughed , and held their hands clasped together , unconscious of the rest of the world .