a quarter past seven
As for Patch , he had never been paid so little attention . Not that he cared . The country was full of scents ... . By a quarter past seven Lyveden was back at Lancaster Gate . The first thing he saw below stairs was the library silver , which he had cleaned that morning and the parlour-maid should have restored to its place . Without waiting to change , he picked up the tray and carried it upstairs , intending , if the room was unoccupied , to replace it at once . As he gained the hall , the twitch of an inserted latchkey came to his ears .