five o’clock
`` Diligences are so uncertain , '' replied Cerizet ; `` you never know at what time they will get to a place . But you need not think about the expense , for I should otherwise go alone , and I am only too happy to offer you two seats in my carriage . '' To misers , small gains are often determining causes in great matters ; after a little resistance `` pro forma , '' Brigitte ended by accepting the proposal , and three hours later the trio were on the road to Chartres , Cerizet having advised Thuillier not to let la Peyrade know of his absence , lest he might take some unfair advantage of it . The next day , by five o'clock , the party had returned , and the brother and sister , who kept their opinions to themselves in presence of Cerizet , were both agreed that the purchase was a good one . They had found the soil of the best quality , the buildings in perfect repair , the cattle looked sound and healthy ; in short , this idea of becoming the mistress of rural property seemed to Brigitte the final consecration of opulence . `` Minard , '' she remarked , `` has only a town-house and invested capital , whereas we shall have all that and a country-place besides ; one ca n't be really rich without it . '' Thuillier was not sufficiently under the charm of that dream -- the realization of which was , in any case , quite distant -- to forget , even for a moment , the `` Echo de la Bievre '' and his candidacy .