three o'clock
A few months , and Flossie 's beauty flowered and expanded , she began to dress as became it , entering into rivalry with Miss Ada Bishop , until it dawned on him that Flossie was really , in her own place and way , a very engaging little creature . About this time Flossie 's circumstances had improved as much as her appearance . Her father had been a clerk in the Bank of England , and on his death she obtained a post there as a sorter . That position gave Flossie both dignity and independence ; it meant light work and hours which brought hope with them every day towards three o'clock . Under these circumstances Flossie 's beauty went on flowering and expanding , till she became more than ever a thing of danger and disaster . Her intimacy with Mr. Rickman , which had lapsed lately , owing to his increasing passion for solitude and separation , revived suddenly in the spring of ninety-five . It happened in this manner .