nearly six o'clock
God knows it is a new thing for me to have my love sued for . '' There was a melancholy in his tone which touched his daughter deeply . He seemed to have struck the key-note of his life in those few words ; a disappointed unsuccessful life ; a youth in which there had been some hidden cause for the ungenial temper of his middle age . It was nearly six o'clock by this time , and Clarissa strolled into the garden with her father while the table was being laid for dinner . There were faint glimpses of russet here and there among the woods around Arden Court , but it still seemed summer time . The late roses were in full bloom in Mr. Lovel 's fertile garden , the rosy apples were brightening in the orchard , the plums purpling on a crumbling old red-brick wall that bounded the narrow patch of kitchen-garden . Yes , even after Hale Castle the place seemed pretty ; and a pang went through Clarissa 's heart , as she thought that this too they might have to leave ; even this humble home was not secure to them .