about four
o'clock
She has no one to wait on her at present , and I do n't want you to lose any time . '' I was ready enough to start , yet something in me hung back ; and to gain time I asked , `` And the gentleman , ma'am ? '' `` The gentleman 's almost always away , I tell you , '' said Mrs. Ralston , quick-like -- `` and when he 's there , '' says she suddenly , `` you 've only to keep out of his way . '' I took the afternoon train and got out at D -- station at about four o'clock . A groom in a dog-cart was waiting , and we drove off at a smart pace . It was a dull October day , with rain hanging close overhead , and by the time we turned into the Brympton Place woods the daylight was almost gone . The drive wound through the woods for a mile or two , and came out on a gravel court shut in with thickets of tall black-looking shrubs .