a quarter to eight
But Raffles would not hear of my accompanying him that night . `` No , my dear Bunny , I am short of sleep and fed up with excitement . You may n't believe it -- you may look upon me as a plaster devil -- but those five minutes you wot of were rather too crowded even for my taste . The dinner was nominally at a quarter to eight , and I do n't mind telling you now that I counted on twice as long as I had . But no one came until twelve minutes to , and so our host took his time . I did n't want to be the last to arrive , and I was in the drawing-room five minutes before the hour . But it was a quicker thing than I care about , when all is said . ''