eleven o'clock
His mind was quite made up ; and during the whole morning he had been endeavouring to drive all disagreeable reminiscences of Miss French from his memory , and to arrange the words with which he would make his offer to Dorothy . He was aware that he need not be very particular about his words , as Dorothy , from the bashfulness of her nature , would be no judge of eloquence at such a time . But still , for his own sake , there should be some form of expression , some propriety of diction . Before eleven o'clock he had it all by heart , and had nearly freed himself from the uneasiness of his falsehood to Arabella . He had given much serious thought to the matter , and had quite resolved that he was right in his purpose , and that he could marry Dorothy with a pure conscience , and with a true promise of a husband 's love . `` Dear Dolly ! '' he said to himself , with something of enthusiasm as he walked across the Close .