half past nine
If you care anything about me , Barbe , you 'll never say that again . '' He came and knelt beside her , taking her hands and kissing them . Laying his head in her lap , he begged to be caressed , as if he had been a dog . Nevertheless by half past nine that evening he was at home , sitting by the fireside with Letty , and beginning his special part in the great experiment . `` She 's not my wife , '' he kept repeating to himself poignantly , as he walked up the Avenue from the Club ; `` she 's not -- she 's _ not _ . But she _ is _ a poor child toward whom I 've undertaken grave responsibilities . '' Because the responsibilities were grave , and she was a poor child , his attitude toward her began to be paternal .