a quarter to ten
o'clock
For the last three years , ever since Rosalind had settled in London , and he had been able to cultivate Miss Kenyon 's acquaintance , he had watched her blossom from a saucy , laughing girl into a very attractive woman . It was only during the past few months , however , that he had thought of her as his future wife -- only since she had succeeded to that enticing legacy of twenty thousand pounds . Since then he had studied her more carefully than ever . The Scandinavian writer 's play was always over by a quarter to ten o'clock , and was succeeded by another in which Ethel had no share . She never stayed longer than was necessary on these nights . She was generally ready to leave the theatre soon after ten o'clock with her companion , Mrs. Durant , who had the right of entry to her dressing-room , and generally acted as her dresser . Maurice Kenyon had refused to let his sister go upon the stage unless she was always most carefully chaperoned .