ten at night
The conductor , standing by the step , recognized it at once , and held out his arm to assist her . The gaslight flared full upon her face , the expression of which was somewhat set . She wore no veil , and if she did not court observation , she certainly did not shun it . She was quietly but richly dressed , and had one seen her there on foot in the morning , one would have surmised that she was out shopping , and looked for the carriage which would probably have been following her ; but a lady , striking in appearance and of distinguished bearing , alighting composedly from an omnibus at Piccadilly Circus between nine and ten at night , and calmly taking her way alone up Regent Street was a sight which would have struck one as being anomalous even if she had been a stranger . But this lady was no stranger to me . I should have recognized her figure and carriage had her countenance been concealed . I had turned hot and cold at the first foreshadowing of her presence , and would fain have found myself mistaken , but there was no possibility of a doubt .