about
six o'clock
He was not sure that he was not rather sorry for Denah , the Dutch girl ; one who can laugh at herself as well as another , and all alone , too , is he thought , rather apt to enjoy the incongruous more than the suitable . Vrouw Van Heigen was learning a new crochet pattern ; one did it in thread of a Sèvres blue shade ; when several long strips were made , one sewed them together with pieces of black satin between each two , and there was an antimacassar of severe but rich beauty . Denah explained all this as she set Mevrouw to work on the pattern ; it was very intricate , quite exciting , because it was so difficult ; the more excited the old lady became the more mistakes she made , but it did not matter ; Denah was patience itself , and did not seem to mind how much time she gave . She came every day after dinner -LRB- that is to say , about six o'clock -RRB- , and when she came it was frequently found necessary that Julia should go to inquire after the invalid cousin . Denah thought herself the deepest and most diplomatic young woman in Holland ; she even found it in her heart to pity Julia , the poor companion , who she used as a pawn in her romance . The which , since it was transparently obvious to the pawn , gave her vast , though private , delight . So Julia went almost daily down the long flat road to the village , and very often Rawson-Clew had to go that way too ; and when he did , his time of going being of necessity much the same time as hers , he was almost bound to walk with her .