eight o'clock
You just put your mind to it , and I guess you 'll make a tip-top maid ! '' Mary was at least prepared to perish in the attempt . She related the conversation downstairs , with the natural result that each of the other three maids registered a vow to be second to none in her attentions to the young visitor . The breakfast-gong rang at eight o'clock , but it was a good ten minutes later before Cornelia came sauntering downstairs , singing an unknown ditty at the pitch of a sweet , if somewhat nasal voice . She was dressed in white of the most elaborate simplicity , and her shaded hair looked even more crisply conspicuous than on the night before . The last line of the song did not come to an end until she was half-way across the dining-room floor , and so far from being dismayed by her aunt 's stare of disapproval , she only laughed , waved her hands , and threw an extra flourish into the rallentando . Then she swooped down upon the stiff figure , hugged it affectionately , and planted three kisses on the cold , grey face ; one on the lips , one on the brow , a third -- deliberately -- on the tip of the nose .