six o'clock
She had everything heart could desire -- Oriental rugs , a grandfather 's clock , a mechanical piano , bird-of-paradise sprays for her hat , a sealskin ulster , and plenty of alimony . And in case said business man proved unsatisfactory Trudy had resolved to exchange him for unlimited legal support at the earliest possible opportunity . But she would not trespass upon Mary 's platform , which consisted of loving Steve O'Valley yet knowing of his love for the Gorgeous Girl , as Mark Constantine had named his daughter . And of course Mary must have realized that though she might earn three thousand a year as private secretary she would eternally lock her desk at six o'clock and trudge home to her mother and the starched window curtains , watch Luke fall in love and scorn her advice , wash her hemstitched ruffles and black her boots , and keep her secret as she grew older and plainer of face ! Trudy often tried to decide just how handsome and how plain Mary was ; it was a matter for argument because the expression of Mary Faithful 's eyes largely determined her charm . She was a sober young person with thick braids of brown hair and surprising niceties of dress , sensible shoes , a frill of real lace on her serge dress , no hint of perfume , no attempt at wearing party attire for business as the rest of the staff not only attempted but unfortunately achieved . She had honest gray eyes , the prophecy of true greatness in her face with its flexible mouth and prominent cheek bones , the sort of woman who would be the mother of great men , tall and angular in build and walking with an athletic stride offset by a feminine cry-baby chin and the usual mediocre allotment of freckles on the usual mediocre nose !