nine at night
`` How long do you expect to remain here ? '' asked Mary Louise . `` I 've no idea , '' was the reply . `` Father seems entirely satisfied with our quarters , for he has no ambition in life beyond eating three simple meals a day , sleeping from nine at night until nine in the morning and reading all the romances he is able to procure . He corresponds with no one save his banker in America and sees no one but the servants and me . But to me the monotony of our existence is fast becoming unbearable and I often wonder if I can stand it for three years longer -- until I 'm eighteen . Then I shall be my own mistress and entitled to handle my own money , and you may rest assured I shall make up for lost time . ''