about nine o'clock
This was the secret of her life , which she guarded so jealously , which she feared even by chance to betray in the phrasings of common intercourse . Wilfrid had divined it , and it was the secret influence of this sympathy that had led her to such unwonted frankness in their latest conversation . Mrs. Rossall had spoken to her of Beatrice Redwing 's delightful singing , and had asked her to come to the drawing-room during the evening ; having declined the afternoon 's drive , Emily did not feel able to neglect this other invitation . The day had become sultry towards its close ; when she joined the company about nine o'clock , she found Beatrice with Mrs. Rossall sitting in the dusk by the open French windows , Mr. Athel in a chair just outside , and Wilfrid standing by him , the latter pair smoking . The sky beyond the line of dark greenery was still warm with after-glow of sunset . Emily quietly sought a chair near Mrs. Rossall , from whom she received a kind look . Mr. Athel was relating a story of his early wanderings in Egypt , with a leisurely gusto , an effective minuteness of picturing , the result of frequent repetition .