about three o'clock
Henri had much to say -- much that he had made up his mind to say to Marie before he left Durbellière , but he put off the moment of saying it from hour to hour , and it was not till near midnight that it was said . Marie herself , bore herself more manfully , if I may say so , than any of them ; she really employed herself , and thought of a thousand things conducive to their future comfort , which would have been forgotten or neglected had she not been there . The little Chevalier tried hard to assist her , but the pale sad face of Agatha , and the silent tears which from time to time moistened the cheeks of the Marquis , and told how acute were the sufferings which he tried in vain to hide , were too much for the poor boy ; he soon betook himself alone into the cherry grove , where he wandered about unseen , and if the truth must be told , more than once threw himself on the ground , and wept bitterly and aloud . They sat down to dinner about three o'clock ; but their dinner was , if possible , a worse affair than their breakfast . They were not only sad , but worn out and jaded with sorrow . The very servants , as they moved the dishes , sobbed aloud ; and at last , Momont , who had vainly attempted to carry himself with propriety before the others , utterly gave way , and throwing himself on to a chair in the salon , declared that nothing but violence should separate him from his master . `` It is five-and-fifty years , '' said he , sobbing , `` since I first waited on Monseigneur .