a quarter to nine
When her father had left her , she seated herself before the looking-glass , abhorrent as it was to her to look thus in her own face , and began dressing her hair with quite unusual attention . This beauty at least remained to her ; arranged as she had learned to do it for the stage , the dark abundance of her tresses crowned nobly the head which once held itself with such defiant grace . She did not change her dress , which , though it had suffered from wear , was well-fitting and of better material than Farringdon Road Buildings were wont to see ; a sober draping which became her tall elegance as she moved . At a quarter to nine she arranged the veil upon her head so that she could throw her hat aside without disturbing it ; then , taking the lamp in her hand , and the key of the Hollands ' door , she went forth . No one met her on the stairs . She was safe in the cold deserted parlour where she had stood this morning . Cold , doubtless , but she could not be conscious of it ; in her veins there seemed rather to be fire than blood .