about eight o'clock
Now the anonymous letter was a well-intentioned but clumsy contrivance of Longways and other of Farfrae 's men to get him out of the way for the evening , in order that the satirical mummery should fall flat , if it were attempted . By giving open information they would have brought down upon their heads the vengeance of those among their comrades who enjoyed these boisterous old games ; and therefore the plan of sending a letter recommended itself by its indirectness . For poor Lucetta they took no protective measure , believing with the majority there was some truth in the scandal , which she would have to bear as she best might . It was about eight o'clock , and Lucetta was sitting in the drawing-room alone . Night had set in for more than half an hour , but she had not had the candles lighted , for when Farfrae was away she preferred waiting for him by the firelight , and , if it were not too cold , keeping one of the window-sashes a little way open that the sound of his wheels might reach her ears early . She was leaning back in the chair , in a more hopeful mood than she had enjoyed since her marriage . The day had been such a success , and the temporary uneasiness which Henchard 's show of effrontery had wrought in her disappeared with the quiet disappearance of Henchard himself under her husband 's reproof .