five
o'clock
The seat by the sundial was screened on every side by the clipped yew hedge , dense and tall , surrounding the circular , gravelled space , in the centre of which stood the old granite dial , with its octagonal pedestal and moss-grown steps . There , as in a closely-shaded arbour , Lady Mary and her old friend were alone and unobserved . The yew-tree boundary was at least eight feet high , and Mary and her companion could hardly have been seen even from the upper windows of the low , old house . Mary had fallen into the habit of going for her walk or her ride at five o'clock every day , when she was not in attendance on Lady Maulevrier , and after her walk or ride she slipped through the stable , and joined her ancient friend . Stables and courtyard were generally empty at this hour , the men only appearing at the sound of a big bell , which summoned them from their snuggery when they were wanted . Most of Lady Maulevrier 's servants had arrived at that respectable stage of long service in which fidelity is counted as a substitute for hard work . The old man was not particularly conversational , and was apt to repeat the same things over and over again , with a sublime unconsciousness of being prosy ; but he liked to hear Mary talk , and he listened with seeming intelligence .