three o'clock
He could not tell , but the stern face of the Count de Vaudrec , already somewhat aged , with gray hair , and the calmly insolent look of a very wealthy man , constantly recurred to his recollection . He noted that the arrival of this unknown , breaking off a charming _ tête-à-tête _ , had produced in him that chilly , despairing sensation that a word overheard , a trifle noticed , the least thing suffices sometimes to bring about . It seemed to him , too , that this man , without his being able to guess why , had been displeased at finding him there . He had nothing more to do till three o'clock , and it was not yet noon . He had still six francs fifty centimes in his pocket , and he went and lunched at a Bouillon Duval . Then he prowled about the boulevard , and as three o'clock struck , ascended the staircase , in itself an advertisement , of the _ Vie Francaise _ . The messengers-in-waiting were seated with folded arms on a bench , while at a kind of desk a doorkeeper was sorting the correspondence that had just arrived .