seven
o’clock
To have a connection gibbeted for a willful murder would be an ugly blot on the Carlyle escutcheon , Cornelia . '' Miss Carlyle sat in silence revolving the news , a contraction on her ample brow . `` And now you know all , Cornelia , and I do beg you to leave me , for I am overwhelmed with work to-day . '' The bench of justices did not fail to keep their appointment ; at seven o'clock they arrived at Miss Carlyle 's , one following closely upon the heels of another . The reader may dissent from the expression `` Miss Carlyle 's , '' but it is the correct one , for the house was hers , not her brother 's ; though it remained his home , as it had been in his father 's time , the house was among the property bequeathed to Miss Carlyle . Miss Carlyle chose to be present in spite of the pipes and the smoke , and she was soon as deep in the discussion as the justices were . It was said in the town , that she was as good a lawyer as her father had been ; she undoubtedly possessed sound judgment in legal matters , and quick penetration .