a quarter to eleven
But , whatever it was that had befallen him , he knew it was imperative that he should at once get at the meaning of it . The hallway in which he stood opened from Bond Street up a flight of stairs to the studio of a fashionable photographer , and directly in front of the hallway a young woman of charming appearance had halted . Her glance was troubled , her manner ill at ease . To herself she kept repeating : `` Did I tell Hudson to be here at a quarter to eleven , or a quarter past ? Will she get the telephone message to bring the ruff ? Without the ruff it would be absurd to be photographed . Without her ruff Mary Queen of Scots would look ridiculous ! ''