half past one o’clock
`` The Clink '' was so far from the nearest post town , that the few letters , usually addressed to the tower , were delivered by private arrangement with a messenger . The man 's punctuality depended on the convenience of his superiors employed at the office . Sometimes he arrived early , and sometimes he arrived late . On this particular morning he presented himself , at half past one o'clock , with a letter for Emily ; and when Mrs. Ellmother smartly reproved him for the delay , he coolly attributed it to the hospitality of friends whom he had met on the road . The letter , directed to Emily at the cottage , had been forwarded from London by the person left in charge . It addressed her as `` Honored Miss. '' She turned at once to the end -- and discovered the signature of Mrs. Rook ! `` And Mr. Mirabel has gone , '' Emily exclaimed , `` just when his presence is of the greatest importance to us ! ''