About nine
o'clock
`` I think we will sit in the south parlour , '' she said aloud ; `` it is n't as damp as the study , and I have a cold . '' So they all sat in the south room with their sewing . Henry read the newspaper , his chair drawn close to the lamp on the table . About nine o'clock he rose abruptly and crossed the hall to the study . The three sisters looked at one another . Mrs. Brigham rose , folded her rustling skirts compactly around her , and began tiptoeing toward the door . `` What are you going to do ? ''