Half past seven o'clock, summer
The dessert did not vary much for months -- from October to late June it was the same ; and only on Sundays was the almond and raisin dish allowed to be partaken of , but an apple was divided into four quarters , after being carefully peeled by Miss La Sarthe , each evening , and Miss Roberta was given two quarters and Halcyone one , while the eldest lady nibbled at the remaining piece herself . In her day , children had always come down to dessert , and had had to be good and not greedy , or the fate of Miss Augusta Noble of that estimable book , `` The Fairchild Family , '' would certainly fall upon them . Halcyone , from her earliest memory , had come down to dessert every night -- except at one or two pleasant moments when the measles or a bad cold had kept her in bed . Half past seven o'clock , summer and winter , had meant for her the quarter of an apple , two or three strawberries or a plum -- and almost always the same conversation . Miss La Sarthe sat at the head of the table , in a green silk dress cut low upon the shoulders and trimmed with a bertha of blonde lace . Miss Roberta -- sad falling off from dignity -- had her thin bones covered with a habit shirt of tulle , because she was altogether a poorer creature than her sister , and felt the cold badly . Both ladies wore ringlets at the sides of their faces and little caps of ribbon and lace .