ten o'clock
It came at last , just as Jack was forgetfully indulging in an enormous bite , a bachelor habit which had become a standing joke among his companions . Mollie had stolen a half-eaten piece of toast from his plate one morning , and measured the gap with an inch tape , to his everlasting embarrassment , so that the pictured memorial was hailed with delight . Needless to say , Jack wished to have his revenge , and immortalise Mollie scraping the sugar out of the bottom of the cup in school-girl fashion , and finally Bates was pressed into the service and instructed how to snap , so that a complete group might be taken . By this time it was ten o'clock , and Mollie announced her intention of going down to the vicarage to help in the final preparations for the afternoon 's entertainment . She took for granted that Ruth would accompany her ; but Miss Ruth had her own ideas as to the employment of the next few hours , and they had nothing to do with Mrs Thornton 's garden-party . On her way downstairs to breakfast she had overheard Victor telling a servant that he had no orders for the stables this morning . The inference was , therefore , that he intended to stop at home , and the thought had instantly darted into her mind that if Mollie went off to the vicarage there would be an hour or two before lunch , when -- when -- Ruth blushed guiltily to herself when she got so far in her calculations ; but it was such a delight to enjoy a quiet _ tete-a-tete _ talk sometimes , instead of the general impersonal conversation .