three in the afternoon
Edith , the long and short of the matter is this : I shall break my heart and die if he does n't make me Lady Catheron . '' A faint , half-absent smile -- no other reply from Miss Darrell . In the handsome reception-room of the Stuart mansion , the two girls sat . It was half-past three in the afternoon , of the day succeeding the ball . In the luxuriant depths of a puffy arm-chair , reclined Edith Darrell , as much at home , as though puffy chairs and luxuriant reclining , had ever been her normal state . The crimson satin cushions , contrasted brilliantly with her dark eyes , hair and complexion . Her black silk dress was new , and fitted well , and she had lit it up with a knot of scarlet tangled in some white lace at the throat .