two o'clock
The wedding was really to take place , therefore , though Mrs Rowland gave out that in her opinion the engagement had been a surprisingly short one ; that she hoped the young people knew what they were about , while all their friends were in such a hurry ; that it was a wretched time of year for a wedding ; and that , in her opinion , it would have been much pleasanter to wait for fine spring weather . As it happened , the weather was finer than it had been almost any day of the preceding spring . The day before the wedding was sunny and mild as an October morning , and the fires seemed to be blazing more for show than use . When Mr Hope dropped in at the Greys ' , at two o'clock , he found the family dining . It was a fancy of Mrs Grey 's to dine early on what she considered busy days . An early dinner was , with her , a specific for the despatch of business . On this day , the arrangement was rather absurd ; for the great evil of the time was , that everything was done , except what could not be transacted till the evening ; and the hours were actually hanging heavy on the hands of some members of the family .