ten
o'clock
but he listened to it , and it often served his purpose better than words of weight and wisdom . In the afternoons Mistress Brodie was to visit , and the winter in Edinburgh to talk over . Coming home in time to take tea with her grandfather , she devoted the first hour after the meal to practising her best songs , and these lullabyed the old man to a sleep which often lasted until `` The Banded Men '' were attended to . It might then be ten o'clock and she was ready to sleep . All through these long summer days , Thora was the natural source of interest and the inciting element of all the work and chatter that turned the Ragnor house upside down and inside out ; but Thora was naturally shy and quiet , and Sunna naturally expressive and presuming ; and it was difficult for their companions to keep Thora and Sunna in their proper places . Every one found it difficult . Only when Ian was present , did Sunna take her proper secondary place and Ian , though the most faithful and attentive of lovers by mail , had only been able to pay Thora one personal visit .