a quarter to six
In the meantime Mrs. Dobbs Broughton had gone down into her own drawing-room , had tucked herself up on the sofa , and had fallen fast asleep . -LSB- Illustration -RSB- John Eames sat at his office on the day after his return to London , and answered the various letters which he had found waiting for him at his lodgings on the previous evening . To Miss Demolines he had already written from his club , -- a single line , which he considered to be appropriate to the mysterious necessities of the occasion . `` I will be with you at a quarter to six to-morrow . -- J. E. Just returned . '' There was not another word ; and as he scrawled it at one of the club tables while two or three men were talking to him , he felt rather proud of his correspondence . `` It was capital fun , '' he said ; `` and after all , '' -- the `` all '' on this occasion being Lily Dale , and the sadness of his disappointment at Allington , -- `` after all , let a fellow be ever so down in the mouth , a little amusement should do him good . ''