nine o'clock in the
morning
She arose and looked in the glass , and seeing that she was pale , vowed again , `` They shall not torment me in this way ! I do not even mean that he shall propose to me ; I must have time to realize it ! '' And so firm was she in her own mind that she rang the bell and sent the maid to call her aunt . It was then only nine o'clock in the morning , and Helen presumed that neither Mrs. Roberts nor any of the other guests would be awake , they not being fresh from boarding school as she was ; but the girl was so nervous and restless , and so weighed upon by her urgent resolution , that she felt she could do nothing else until she had declared it and gotten rid of the matter . `` I 'm going to tell her once for all , '' she vowed ; `` they shall not torment me any more . '' It turned out , however , that Mrs. Roberts had been up and dressed a considerable time , -- for a reason which , when Helen learned it , prevented her delivering so quickly the speech she had upon her mind ; she noticed a worried expression upon her aunt 's face as soon as the latter came into the room . `` What is the matter ? ''