six o'clock
It was impossible to snatch five minutes during the day , but when the house was still and quiet it was easier to concentrate her thoughts , and she was surprised sometimes what progress she was able to make . Night after night she heard the clock strike twelve before she put out her lamp , and once even the early midsummer dawn stole in and caught her unawares . None of the family knew that she sat up working so late , or probably Father would have forbidden it , for it was certainly burning the candle at both ends . It was very difficult to rise at six o'clock and help to prepare breakfast when she seemed only to have had a few hours ' sleep , and it was often a great temptation to ignore the alarum and turn over on her pillow . But having accepted the household drudgery , Gwen had enough grit to carry out her duties thoroughly , however unwelcome some of them might be , and to secure breakfast in time was a cardinal virtue at the Parsonage . To her credit she never once let the others start late for school , or forgot to place their packets of lunch ready , and Beatrice herself could not have been more solicitous about drying wet boots and stockings . `` You 're getting quite grandmotherly , Gwen , '' laughed Basil .