nearly nine o'clock
If what he was thinking of her were true , then it would be better for both their sakes if he never saw her again . But , even while he said this , he knew that he would have to see her , and without loss of time . What he needed was to stand face to face with her , to look into her eyes , which , whatever they might do , had never learned to hide the truth , and there gain the certainty that his imaginings were monstrous -- the phantoms of a melancholy October twilight . It was nearly nine o'clock , but there was no light in her room . He pictured her lying in the dark , and was filled with remorse . But he said her name in vain ; the room was empty . Lighting the lamp , he saw that the bedclothes had been thrown back over the foot-end of the unmade bed , as though she had only just left it .