about twelve o'clock
There would probably be an operation before the week ended . With the deliberate intention of creating a favourable impression on the colonel , for whose daughter 's hand he was on the point of asking , Mark explained that Harefield 's practice was turning out far better than could have been expected . Now and then he glanced significantly at Carrissima , who might have bidden him `` good-bye '' very happily if Bridget Rosser had never entered her life . The next morning , at about twelve o'clock , Mark was in his consulting-room when Jimmy was announced . Sybil had seen him leave Upper Grosvenor Street with considerable misgiving , dreading lest his interview with Mark should lead to trouble with Carrissima . She sighed to remember his scepticism about Bridget 's backsliding , and felt confident that her brother was on his way to a very painful ordeal . Jimmy , for his own part , had scarcely attempted to explain the discrepancy between Sybil 's story and his own ideal of Bridget .