nine o'clock
Altogether , it was with great cheerfulness , affectionateness , and hope that they took leave of Selina : she , with unwonted consideration , insisting that the carriage should convey them all the way to Richmond . `` And , '' she said , `` perhaps some of these days my son , if he is a son , may have the pleasure of escorting his aunts home . I shall certainly call him ` Henry Leaf , ' and bring him up to be in every way a credit to our family . '' When the ladies were away , and Mrs. Ascott had retired to bed , it was still only nine o'clock , and a bright moonlight night . Elizabeth thought she could steal down stairs and try to get a breath of fresh air round the square . Her long confinement made her almost sick sometimes for a sight of the outer world , a sight of -- let me tell the entire truth -- her own faithful Tom . She had not seen him now for fourteen days , and though his letters were very nice and exceedingly clever , still she craved for a look at his face , a grasp of his hand , perhaps even a kiss , long and close and tender , such as he would sometimes insist upon giving her , in spite of all policemen .