five o'clock
`` It 's life I 'm living , and life is hard , however you take it . '' For a few blocks she walked on briskly , thinking of the shop windows and of the brightness and gaiety of the crowd in Fifth Avenue ; but in spite of her efforts , her thoughts fluttered back presently to herself and her own problems . `` After all , you ca n't become a victim unless you give in , '' she said grimly ; `` and I 'll die rather than become a victim . '' Her walk kept her out until five o'clock , and when she entered the house at that hour she found her mother-in-law in the front hall giving directions to Burrows . At sight of Gabriella she paused breathlessly , and said with undisguised nervousness : `` A very queer-looking person who says she was sent by your mother has just come to see you , dear -- a seamstress of some kind , I fancy . As she looked quite clean , I let her go upstairs to the nursery to wait for you . I hope you do n't mind .