nine o'clock
He looked at his glass , and remembered that it was his fourth drink . Instantly he thought of the Duchess . With his usual formula '' ` Scuse me ; I 'm a married man , y' know , '' he hurried out of the bar in search of his little present . It was nine o'clock , and the Duchess would be waiting for him with his tea since six . And always when he stopped at the `` Angel '' on his way home , he tried to soften her icy looks with a little present . Sometimes it was a bunch of grapes that he crushed to a pulp by rolling on them ; sometimes a dozen apples that he spilt out of the bag , and recovered from the gutter with lurching steps . But tonight he happened to stop in front of the fish shop , and a lobster caught his eye .