four o'clock in the afternoon
She knew every bookmaker on the course by sight , and had as much knowledge of the field as any one in the ring . And she looked exactly like some very beautiful child , and carried a parasol of rose-coloured chiffon beneath which her complexion and eyes appeared to great advantage . She smiled whether winning or losing , and ate a tiny luncheon with an epicurean air . At four o'clock in the afternoon it is an accepted custom at Sedgwick Races for every one to have tea before the last event , and then horses are put to in coaches and carriages , and those who have attended the meeting whether for business or pleasure drive back to their own homes , or go slowly downhill in a long string to the little railway station where , for two days at least in the year , the local station-master is a person of importance . Mrs. Ogilvie arrived at the racecourse , as she had promised to do , about tea-time . She hardly ever cared to watch the races ; but she stood amongst her friends for a while in the pleasant shade of the wood , and looked on at the little gathering with that air of detached and hardly concealed weariness which she always felt on such occasions . She congratulated Peter , who had won a rather closely finished race earlier in the day ; but her voice betrayed little interest in the event , and an onlooker might have been surprised at the almost distant way in which she spoke to him .