eight o'clock
At length , Molly heaved a long sigh , and said , -- `` I should like to be pretty ! '' `` Why , Molly , '' said Cynthia , turning round with an exclamation on the tip of her tongue ; but when she caught the innocent , wistful look on Molly 's face , she instinctively checked what she was going to say , and , half-smiling to her own reflection in the glass , she said , -- `` The French girls would tell you , to believe that you were pretty would make you so . '' Molly paused before replying , -- `` I suppose they would mean that if you knew you were pretty , you would never think about your looks ; you would be so certain of being liked , and that it is caring -- '' `` Listen ! that 's eight o'clock striking . Do n't trouble yourself with trying to interpret a French girl 's meaning , but help me on with my frock , there 's a dear one . '' The two girls were dressed , and were standing over the fire waiting for the carriage in Cynthia 's room , when Maria -LRB- Betty 's successor -RRB- came hurrying into the room . Maria had been officiating as maid to Mrs. Gibson , but she had had intervals of leisure , in which she had rushed upstairs , and , under the pretence of offering her services , had seen the young ladies ' dresses , and the sight of so many nice clothes had sent her into a state of excitement which made her think nothing of rushing upstairs for the twentieth time , with a nosegay still more beautiful than the two previous ones .