one o'clock
At twelve-fifty there arrived an elderly gentleman , before whom the servants bowed low . Lord Brighthelmston went to fetch Patricia , who chanced to be sitting out a dance with Terence . The three came out on the balcony , which was deserted , in the near prospect of supper , and the personage -- whom we suspected to be Patricia 's godfather -- took from his waistcoat pocket a string of pearls , and , clasping it round her white throat , stooped gently and kissed her forehead . Then at one o'clock came supper . Francesca and I had secretly provided for that contingency , and curling up on a sofa we drew toward us a little table which Dawson had spread with a galantine of chicken , some cress sandwiches , and a jug of milk . At one-thirty we were quite overcome with sleep , and retired to our beds , where of course we speedily grew wakeful . `` It is giving a ball , not going to one , that is so exhausting ! ''