about
four o'clock
This was due to her mother . The more pretentious laughed about Mrs. Robinson , and though the thrifty , contented housewife never missed the amenities which might have been extended to her , she was keenly alive to any slights put upon her daughter . And so it was now . Mrs. Lawrence , a rich , childless old lady , lived next door , and about four o'clock she went over there . The girl watched her departure doubtfully , but the possibility of not having a large wedding kept her from giving a full expression to her feelings . Esther had always dreamed of her wedding ; she had looked forward to it just as definitely before she met Joe Elsworth as after her engagement to him . There would be flowers and guests and feasting , and she would be the centre of it all in a white dress and veil .