six o'clock
It was the worst beating that Peter had ever had , and that was something , but its occurrence marked more than a mere crescendo of pain , and that evening stood for some new resolution that he did not rightly understand yet -- something that was in its beginning the mere planting of a seed . But he had certainly met the affair in a new way and , although in the week that followed he saw his father very seldom and spoke to him not at all beyond `` Good morning '' and `` Good night , '' he fancied that he was in greater favour with him than he had ever been before . There were always days of silence after a beating , and that was more markedly the case now when it was a week of holidays and no Parlow to go to . Peter did not mind the silence -- it was perhaps safer -- and so long as he was home by six o'clock he could spend the day where he pleased . He asked Mrs. Trussit about the carol-singers . There was a little room , the housekeeper 's room , to which he crept when he thought that it was safe to do so . She was a different Mrs. Trussit within the boundary of her kingdom -- a very cosy kingdom with pink wall-paper , a dark red sofa , a canary in a cage , and a fire very lively in the grate .