twelve o'clock
She might be blackmailing him , he said ; she might be a `` crow '' ; but she was n't lying . When his guardian had talked it all out with him , and written a letter which Maurice was to take to a lawyer -LRB- `` she 'll want to get rid of the child ; they always want to get rid of the child ; so she may let you off easier if you say you 'll see that it is cared for ; and we 'll have Hayes put it in black and white '' -RRB- when all these arrangements had been made , Maurice almost dished the whole thing -LRB- so Mr. Houghton expressed it -RRB- by saying -- again as if the words burst up from some choked well of truthfulness : `` Uncle Henry , it is n't blackmail ; and -- and I 've got to be half decent ! '' Down from the upper hall came a sweet , anxious voice : `` Maurice , darling ! It 's twelve o'clock ! What _ are _ you doing ? '' Mr. Houghton called back : `` We 're talking business , Eleanor . I 'll send him up in a quarter of an hour .