a quarter after eight
But to take that which supposedly had been renounced -- virtue , sobriety , security , respect -- would this be endured ? She went about it breathlessly , like a thief . Never was there a more exemplary household . They rose at half-past seven , they breakfasted at a quarter after eight ; at nine , young Mr. Manning , the farm superintendent , was in waiting , and Hugh spent two or more hours in his company , inspecting , correcting , planning ; for two thousand acres of the original Chiltern estate still remained . Two thousand acres which , since the General 's death , had been at sixes and sevens . The General 's study , which was Hugh 's now , was piled high with new and bulky books on cattle and cultivation of the soil . Government and state and private experts came and made tests and went away again ; new machinery arrived , and Hugh passed hours in the sun , often with Honora by his side , installing it .