midnight before
Kow , in immaculate linen , came back and forth in leisurely table-setting . Suddenly everything was ready ; the crisp , smoking-hot French loaf , the big , brown jar of bubbling and odorous chicken , the lettuce curled in its bowl , the long-necked bottles in their straw cases , and cheeses and crackers and olives and figs and tiny fish in oil and marrons in fluted paper that were a part of all Peter 's dinners . After dinner they watched the moon rise , until Alix drifted in to the piano and Peter followed her , and the others came in , too , to sit beside the fire . As usual it was midnight before any one thought of ending one of Peter 's evenings . And all through the pleasant , quiet hours , and when he bundled them up in his own big loose coats to drive them home , Cherry was thinking of him in this new light ; Peter loving a woman , and denied . The knowledge seemed to fling a strange glamour about him ; she saw new charm in him , or perhaps , as she told herself , she saw for the first time how charming he really was . His speech seemed actually the pleasanter for the stammer at which they had all laughed years ago ; the slight limp lent its own touch of individuality , and the man 's blunt criticisms of books and music , politics and people , were softened by his humour , his genuine humility , and his eager hospitality .