eight o'clock
before
His irritation gave place to a deeper realization that an impossible situation threatened . There was nothing , obviously , that he could do to-day ; but he would speak seriously to Mariana to-morrow ; one or both of them would have to leave Shadrach . This determination took the present weight from his conscience ; and , pottering about small concerns of his own , he ignored them comfortably . They appeared late , dirty and hot , for dinner ; and it was eight o'clock before Mariana came down in a gown like a white-petalled flower . She wore no rings , but about her throat was a necklace of old-fashioned seed pearls in loops and rosettes . `` It 's family , '' she told them ; `` it belonged to Caroline Penny . And she married a Quaker , too ; a David Forsythe . ''