nine o'clock before
Old Wegstaffe was a generous host , and knew what men liked best at a musicale . On the top floor four or five half-grown boys were playing billiards , and the ground floor fairly surged with women of all ages , degrees and ugliness . To me there was only one pretty girl in the house , Edith Wegstaffe ; but of course I was prejudiced . It was nine o'clock before Mrs. Wegstaffe gave the signal to begin . The three long drawing-rooms were jammed with smart looking people , a fair sprinkling of Bohemians , and a few professionals , whose hair , hands and glasses betrayed them . The latter stood in groups , eying each other suspiciously , while regarding the rest of the world with that indulgent air they assume at musicales . Everything to my unpractised eye seemed in hopeless disorder ; a frightful buzz filled the air , and a blond girl at the big piano was trying to disentangle a lot of music .