four o'clock in the
afternoon
He was of firmer substance than two years ago , yet had not become , nor ever would , a vigorously independent man . In her hands the decision had lain -- and the affair was decided . On Tuesday , the day after Egremont 's departure for the North of England , she was still thinking these thoughts . At four o'clock in the afternoon , having seen her children come in from the garden and gather for tea , she went with a book to spend an hour in the arbour where she had had that fateful conversation with Walter on the summer night . As she drew near to the covered spot , it seemed to her that there was a footfall behind on the grass . She turned her head , and with surprise saw Thyrza . With something more than surprise .