eleven o’clock
Her husband and her father were about to be humiliated in her person . She must necessarily confess the failure of the one , the downfall of the house which the other had founded and of which he had been so proud while he lived . The thought that she would be called upon to defend all that she loved best in the world made her strong and weak at the same time . It was eleven o'clock when she reached Savigny . As she had given no warning of her visit , the carriage from the chateau was not at the station , and she had no choice but to walk . It was a cold morning and the roads were dry and hard . The north wind blew freely across the arid fields and the river , and swept unopposed through the leafless trees and bushes .