three o'clock
She had shot into a tall girl , though she would have her dresses short ; she despised young ladyhood . She was smart and capable . She helped with the meals ; often , indeed , her mother did not come down until breakfast was ready , when she had had a `` bad night . '' That was when she read novels in bed until two or three o'clock . Delia swept the house -- she often did wash on Saturday , though her brother scolded when she did it . She was the same jolly , eager , careless girl , and delighted in a game of tag , but she could so easily outrun the smaller children . She and Jim sometimes raced round the block , one going in one direction , one in the other , and Jim did n't always beat , either .