seven o'clock
`` It ca n't do any harm , certainly . I 'll talk to mother about it . '' Two days later she wrote to suggest a night , and Eric felt that he had involuntarily succeeded where young Benyon had failed ; a week later he was waiting for her in the lounge of the Carlton . Though she had stipulated for a seven o'clock dinner so that they should be in their places before the curtain went up , half-past seven had struck before she hurried in with breathless apologies . `` It 's all right , but I 'm afraid your cocktail will be tepid , '' he said . `` I ordered it beforehand to save time . I suppose you could n't get a taxi . ''