ten o'clock
There were moments of illusion when he was sure that the moon itself was twinkling . He laid it to his liver . The little gold clock on the mantelpiece was striking ten when he began clearing his throat for action . He always remembered that it was precisely ten o'clock , because he had to look intently at the diminutive face of the thing to make sure that it was n't striking twenty or thirty . It seemed to go on forever . They were still in the dining-room and quite alone . For some uncanny reason the Grand Duchess had not giggled once since the coffee was served .