A quarter to eight
`` No , no , there 's no need for that , '' Hortense hurriedly murmured . Rénine 's intuition , his subtlety , the skill with which he had managed the whole business : to her , for the moment , all these things remained in the background . But she suddenly remembered that the eighth adventure was completed , that Rénine had surmounted every obstacle , that the test had turned to his advantage and that the extreme limit of time fixed for the last of the adventures was not yet reached . He had the cruelty to call attention to the fact : `` A quarter to eight , '' he said . An oppressive silence fell between them . Both felt its discomfort to such a degree that they hesitated to make the least movement . In order to break it , Rénine jested : `` That worthy M. Pancaldi , how good it was of him to tell me what I wished to know !