Eight o'clock
If only Lettice could be placed in safety , carried away from London to some happy haven where no enemy could follow and torment her , and where he might guard her goings and comings , he would be content to play the part of a watch-dog , if by that means he could be near her and serve her ! Something impelled him to get up and leave the house . It was dark by this time , and he wandered aimlessly through the streets ; but by and by , without any conscious intention , he found himself walking rapidly in the direction of Hammersmith . Eight o'clock had struck when he left his lodgings in Alfred Place , and it was after nine when he stood at the corner where the main-road passes by the entrance to Brook Green . He had never once looked behind him ; and , even if he had , he would scarcely have detected in the darkness the figure which dogged his steps with obstinate persistence . He hesitated for a minute or more at the corner , and then walked slowly round the Green . Opposite to Maple Cottage there was a large tree , and underneath it , barely visible from the pavement , a low wooden seat .