four o'clock
The feverish agonies of shame and reproach held her . She was pleading with Richard , she was talking to Nina -- she was making little of it -- making much of it -- she was saying a reluctant `` yes -- yes -- yes ! '' to their questioning . At four o'clock she dressed herself again , half-mad with headache and fatigue , and went out into a world that was just beginning to brighten into faint shapes and colours . The fresh cold air of morning struck her jaded senses with a delicious chill ; she went noiselessly across the terrace and down toward the water , her big soft coat brushing spider-webs from the dim rosebushes as she went . The world lay silent , fragrant , saturated with dew . Yet under its chill Harriet felt the pervading warmth of the day that had gone , and the day that was to come .