ten
o'clock
`` I should say the matter was entirely in your own hands . This at least offers you an opening , and I advise you to accept it . However , you must decide for yourself ; and if at any later date I may be of service -- '' Don returned to the lounge to think the matter over . It was ten o'clock and he had not yet breakfasted . As he had neglected to send any provisions to the house , Nora , acting upon his orders of the day before , had not prepared anything for him -- there was nothing to prepare . However , whether he ate breakfast or not was a detail . That is to say , it was a detail when he left the house ; but now , after the brisk walk to the club in the snapping cold air , it had grown in importance .