six o'clock
_ A la bonne heure _ , '' cried Madame , with a little yawn ; `` freedom of the halls , and deshabille , for one afternoon . '' So we spent the afternoon with our doors open , and with books , or without books , on the bed . Nobody came into my room , except Mrs. Hollenbeck for a few moments , looking very pretty in a white peignoir , and rather sleepy at the same time ; hoping I was comfortable and had found something to amuse me in the library . It seemed to be thought a great bore to dress , to judge from the exclamations of ennui which I heard in the hall , as six o'clock approached , and the young ladies wandered into each other 's room and bewailed the necessity . I think Miss Leighton would have been very glad to have stayed on the bed , and tried to sleep away the hours that presented no amusement ; but Charlotte Benson laughed at her so cruelly , that she began to dress at once , and said , she had not intended what she said , of course . I was the first to be ready , and went down to the piazza . The heat of the day was over and there was a soft , pleasant breeze .