nine o'clock
He would rather communicate fasting , but he has to have something , for he does n't get home till dinner-time . '' When midday came , Robby was very fractious . The mutton-bone -- no cooking was done -- was harder than ever to carve with decency ; and poor Mrs. Shepherd , for sheer fidgetiness , could hardly swallow a bite . But at nine o'clock that evening , when the labours of the day were behind him , he was persuaded to lie down on the sofa and drink a glass of port . At his head sat Mrs. Shepherd , holding the wine and some biscuits ; at his feet Isabella , stroking his soles . The stimulant revived him ; he grew quite mellow , and presently , taking his wife 's hand , he held it in his -- and Laura felt sure that all his querulousness was forgiven him for the sake of this moment . Then , finding a willing listener in the black-eyed little girl who sat before him , he began to talk , to relate his travels , giving , in particular , a vivid account of some months he had once spent in Japan .