Eleven o'clock
If I do n't execute my commission she 'll tear my eyes out . It 's a case of landing her fish , you know . '' `` Well then , I 'll help you , dear boy . '' Eleven o'clock struck . Assisted by her daughter , the countess was pouring out the tea , and as hardly any guests save intimate friends had come , the cups and the platefuls of little cakes were being circulated without ceremony . Even the ladies did not leave their armchairs in front of the fire and sat sipping their tea and nibbling cakes which they held between their finger tips . From music the talk had declined to purveyors .