six o'clock
before
But Mrs Vallance grudged them nothing , and if she could have found it in her heart to envy anyone , it would have been Mrs Chelwood at the White House , who had a nursery and school-room full of children . On the morning after the gypsies had passed , the Reverend Austin Vallance was out even earlier than usual in his garden . He was always an early riser , for he liked time for a stroll before taking the service in his little church . Just now his roses were in full perfection , and the weather was remarkably fine , so that it was scarcely six o'clock before he was out of doors . It was certainly a beautiful morning . By and by it would be hot and sultry , only fit for a sensible man to sit quietly in his study and doze a little , and make extracts for his next sermon . Now , it was deliciously cool and fresh .