about nine
o'clock
And he was with her again ; yet all that he had stood for , to her , was gone , and another significance had taken its place . He was nearer to her heart , in one manner , though utterly removed , in another . It was as when a friend was dead : his familiar presence is gone ; but now that one physical barrier is vanished , his presence is there , closer than ever , though in another fashion ... * * * * * Robin had come in to sup . Captain Fortescue would fetch him about nine o'clock , and the two were to ride for the coast before dawn . The four sat quiet after supper , speaking in subdued voices , of hopes for the future , when England should be besieged , indeed , by the spiritual forces that were gathering overseas ; but they slipped gradually into talk of the past and of Derbyshire , and of rides they remembered . Then , after a while , Anthony was called away ; Mistress Alice moved back to the table to see her needlework the better , and Robin and Marjorie sat together by the fire . * * * * * He told her again of the journey from Rheims , of the inns where they lodged , of the extraordinary care that was taken , even in that Catholic land , that no rumour of the nature of the party should slip out , lest some gossip precede them or even follow them to the coast of England .