five o'clock
The girl looked intelligent , as if she had heard the name before . And Mr. Brooke , following her upstairs to the drawing-room , reflected on the quickness with which servants make themselves acquainted with their masters ' and mistresses ' affairs , and the disadvantages of a civilization in which you were at the mercy of your servants ' tongues . These reflections had no bearing on his own circumstances : they proceeded entirely from Mr. Brooke 's habit of taking general views , and making large applications of small things . The day was cloudy , and , although it was only five o'clock , the streets were growing dark . The weather was chilly , moreover , and the wind blew from the East . It was a pleasant change to enter Mrs. Romaine 's drawing-room , which was full of soft light from a glowing little fire , full of the scent of roses and the lovely tints of Indian embroideries , Italian tapestries , dead gold-leaf backgrounds , and china that was beautiful as well as rare . Lady Alice Brooke , in her narrow isolation from the world , would not have believed that so charming a room could be found east of Great Portland Street .