Six
o'clock
It will show him that I did not mean him to come . ' At hearing the very merciful nature of the punishment , Picotee sighed without replying ; and Ethelberta despatched her note . The hour of appointment drew near , and Ethelberta showed symptoms of unrest . Six o'clock struck and passed . She walked here and there for nothing , and it was plain that a dread was filling her : her letter might accidentally have had , in addition to the moral effect which she had intended , the practical effect which she did not intend , by arriving before , instead of after , his purposed visit to her , thereby stopping him in spite of all her care . ` How long are letters going to Bloomsbury ? ' she said suddenly .