twenty minutes past ten
She only wished that all might be over soon , as condemned men do when they are waiting for execution . She sat still a long time and she heard the little French clock on her mother 's writing table in the boudoir strike its soft chimes at the third quarter , and then ring ten strokes at the full hour . She listened anxiously for the servant 's step beyond the door , and now and then she caught her breath a little when she thought she heard a sound . It was twenty minutes past ten when the door opened . She expected the man to stand still , and announce Guido , and she looked away ; but the footsteps came nearer and nearer and stopped beside her . The man held out a small salver on which lay a note addressed in Guido 's hand . It was like a reprieve after the long tension , for something must have happened to prevent him from coming , something unexpected , but welcome , though she would not own it .