seven o'clock
Even if there had been no other companions , Nelly would have been content to be with her father and mother . She used to love the time just before she went to bed , when Mrs. Grey nearly always read to her and told her stories about England . They often talked of Nelly 's brother Tom , who had gone to school at Brighton when the Greys came to Peking . With seven o'clock came Nelly 's amah to put her to bed . The amah would have willingly done everything for Nelly , but Mrs. Grey insisted that she must undress herself and not become helpless , as children brought up in the East often do , because there are so many servants to wait on them . At first she used to feel a little afraid when the amah blew out the candle and left her alone in her little bed in the middle of a great big dark room ; but her mother had taught her that God takes care of us in the dark just the same as at any other time , and she soon learnt to curl herself up and go quietly to sleep . One Monday , when Nelly had had her tea , she went out of doors to watch for her father coming home .