four o'clock
It was she who shed the truest tears , but it was she also who rebelled most at the make-believe which convention forced upon her ; and the usual sense of hopeless exasperation was strong in her mind . After a while she threw off the shawl from her feet and the cushions that supported her shoulders , and got up and walked about the room , looking out upon the afternoon sunshine and the trees that were turning their shadows to the east . How she longed , with a fervour scarcely explainable , not at all comprehensible to most people , to leave the place , to open her wings in a large atmosphere , to get free ! At half-past four o'clock Minnie and Chatty went down to tea . They were to the minute , and their mother heard them with a half smile . It was always time enough for her to smooth her hair and her collar , and take a new handkerchief from her drawer , when she heard the sisters close their door . She went downstairs after them , in her gown covered with crape , with her snowy cap , which gave dignity to her appearance .