ten o'clock
I had found myself involved in the Banks 's drama , but what hope had I of ever seeing them again after the next day ? What , moreover , was the great thing I was called upon to do ? I had decided only an hour or two before that my old way of life had become impossible for me , but equally impossible was any way of life that did not include the presence of Anne . I looked at my watch , and found that it was after ten o'clock , but how long I had been standing at the gate , I had no idea ; whether an hour or ten minutes . I had been dreaming again , lost in imaginative delights ; until the reminder of this new urgency had brought me back to a reality that demanded from me an energy of participation and of initiative . I wished that Anne would come -- and by way of helping her should she , indeed , have come out to look for me , I strolled back to the Farm , and then round to the front of the house . The windows of the sitting-room had been closed but the blinds were not drawn .