two
o'clock
The necessity for secrecy was what made the task arduous . Lydia finished her studying as hurriedly as possible each night and went on to her room . It was bitter cold in the room when the door was closed , but she hung a dust cloth over the keyhole , a shawl over the window shade , wrapped herself in a quilt and unwrapped the bundle . By two o'clock she had finished and shivering and with aching eyes , crept into bed . Within a week she was going about her daily work with hollow eyes and without the usual glow in her cheeks . Within two weeks , the casual glimpse of Lizzie darning one of Amos ' socks gave her a sense of nausea , but she hung on with determination worthy of a better cause . The third week she took cold , an almost unheard-of proceeding for Lydia , and in spite of all old Lizzie 's decoctions , she could not throw it off .