half past ten in the morning
Plain as a bursting shell seemed to William Miss Gravely 's position in the household , and Steptoe 's chivalry toward her an eccentricity which a sense of humor could enjoy . Otherwise they justified his reading of the fundamental non-morality of men , in bringing no condemnation to bear on anyone concerned . Being themselves two almost incapacitated heroes , with jobs likely to prove `` soft , '' it was wise , they felt , to enter into Steptoe 's comedy . At half past ten in the morning , therefore , Golightly prepared tea and buttered toast , while William arranged the tea-tray with those over-magnificent appointments which had been `` the lyte Mrs. Allerton 's tyste . '' From her corner of the sofa Letty heard the butler announce , in a voice stately but not stentorian : `` Miss Barbara Walbrook . '' He was so near the door that to step out and step in again was the work of a second . In stepping in again he trod daintily , wriggling the back part of his person , better to simulate the feminine .