about six o'clock in the evening
One day , two years after the parting , Stockdale , now settled in a midland town , came into Nether-Moynton by carrier in the original way . Jogging along in the van that afternoon he had put questions to the driver , and the answers that he received interested the minister deeply . The result of them was that he went without the least hesitation to the door of his former lodging . It was about six o'clock in the evening , and the same time of year as when he had left ; now , too , the ground was damp and glistening , the west was bright , and Lizzy 's snowdrops were raising their heads in the border under the wall . Lizzy must have caught sight of him from the window , for by the time that he reached the door she was there holding it open : and then , as if she had not sufficiently considered her act of coming out , she drew herself back , saying with some constraint , ` Mr. Stockdale ! ' ` You knew it was , ' said Stockdale , taking her hand . ` I wrote to say I should call . '