half past seven
But her second thought was : `` Billie would have asked me why I had gone walking at dusk in the rain , and what a teasing I should have got . '' It was late and she hurried back to dress for dinner . No one had missed her because Billie had been helping Miss Campbell into her best evening frock , and the others were all engaged in their own toilets . That evening at half past seven a very jolly party gathered around the dinner table , which was a miracle of beauty with its decorations of apple blossoms . Besides Nicholas Grimm and Yoritomo Ito , there were two Englishmen , Reginald Carlton , a young man who was taking a trip around the world by way of finishing his education , and Mr. Buxton , an older man who lived in Tokyo . All the men wore evening clothes , although Mr. Campbell had sighed when Billie made him appear in his . He was a man of camps and open air and seldom appeared in society .