ten
o'clock
He caught her to his breast and folded her to his heart . In the heaven of his faithful love she felt , at least , safe from her own lurid passion , and at rest from the biting remarks of her little world . It was the night of Christmas Eve and the snow fell thick and fast . This weather , so unusual in the Channel Isles , had delayed Perrin Corbet in the little town of Saint Pierre Port , and it was past ten o'clock when he reached home . His mother had gone to bed , but not before she had prepared her son 's supper and left the little kitchen the picture of comfort . After his meal , Perrin turned the lamp low , lit his pipe , and sat down in his mother 's arm-chair before the _ vraicq _ fire . The wind moaned in the huge chimney , with a cradling sound , but Perrin was not in the least inclined to sleep .