the hour of five
She turned back to the fire with a shiver ; and sat gazing into the leaping flames , while her tea grew cold and the hands of the clock crept inexorably onwards . At half-past five she must leave the house . True , the meeting-place was distant barely a quarter of a mile , but Owen might return early , and she had no desire to run the risk of meeting him . A short cut over the fields would both shorten the way and minimize the danger of running into her husband ; and Toni looked up , startled , when the silver clock on the mantelpiece chimed the hour of five . Only thirty minutes , and her life at Greenriver would come to an end . Never again would she roam through the beautiful old house , never sit in this charming , panelled room , with its ghostly yet alluring fragrance as of bygone lavender and roses . Never again would she wander in the garden , revelling in the beauties of colour and scent and form which made so lovely a picture in the glorious setting of turf and river .