eleven in the morning
He told himself frequently that either with one or with the other life would have been the same ; that he had made himself for a while unfit for domestic life , and that he must cure himself of that unfitness . But though he declared this to himself in one set of half-spoken thoughts , he would also declare to himself in another set , that Lily would have made the whole house bright with her brightness ; that had he brought her home to his hearth , there would have been a sun shining on him every morning and every evening . But , nevertheless , he strove to do his duty , and remembered that the excitement of official life was still open to him . From eleven in the morning till five in the afternoon he could still hold a position which made it necessary that men should regard him with respect , and speak to him with deference . In this respect he was better off than his wife , for she had no office to which she could betake herself . `` Yes , '' she said to Amelia , `` it is all very nice , and I do n't mind the house being damp ; but I get so tired of being alone . '' `` That must be the case with women who are married to men of business . ''