nine o'clock in the morning
When she arrived home in Hanover Street it was nine o'clock -- an hour well on in the day for Euphrasia . Unlocking the kitchen door , she gave a glance at the stove to assure herself that it had not been misbehaving , and went into the passage on her way up-stairs to take off her gown before sitting down to reflect upon the astonishing thing she had heard . Habit had so crystallized in Euphrasia that no news , however amazing , could have shaken it . But in the passage she paused ; an unwonted , or rather untimely , sound reached her ears , a sound which came from the front of the house -- and at nine o'clock in the morning ! Had Austen been at home , Euphrasia would have thought nothing of it . In her remembrance Hilary Vane , whether he returned from a journey or not , had never been inside the house at that hour on a week-day ; and , unlike the gentleman in `` La Vie de Boheme , '' Euphrasia did not have to be reminded of the Sabbath . Perhaps Austen had returned !