Nine o'clock
asked Wilding , impatient to be off . They were standing in the street under the sign of The Ship , by which Jonathan Edney -- Mr. Trenchard 's landlord -- distinguished his premises and the chandler 's trade he drove there . Trenchard set a detaining hand on Mr. Wilding 's arm . `` Nine o'clock is the hour appointed for supper . It is odds the Duke will be a little late , and it is more than odds that when he does arrive , the assassins will wait until the company is safely at table and lulled by good eating and drinking . You had overlooked that , I see . It asks an old head for wisdom , after all .