four o’clock
That is what George Holland would have thought , having but a superficial acquaintance with the motives that sway young women . Later in the day he had replied to her letter , and had appointed four o'clock on the following afternoon as the hour when he trusted she would find it convenient to see him , in order to give him an opportunity of making an explanation which he trusted would enable her to see that `` Revised Versions , '' so far from being the dreadful book she seemed to imagine it to be , was in reality written with a high purpose . She had not shrunk from an interview with him . She had sent him a line to let him know that she would be at home at four o'clock ; and now she sat in her drawing room and observed , without emotion , that in five minutes that hour would strike . The clock struck , and before the last tone had died away , the footman announced the Rev. George Holland . Phyllis shook hands with her visitor . He sought to retain her hand , as he had been in the habit of doing , as he stood beside her with something of a proprietary air .