a
quarter past nine
Any falsehood there opened an abyss beneath my feet into which I dared not look . ` And now , dear girls , good-night . You must be tired . We breakfast at a quarter past nine -- not too early for you , I know . ' And so saying , she kissed us , smiling , and was gone . I was so unpleasantly occupied , for some time after her departure , with the knaveries said to be practised among the dense cover of the Windmill Wood , that I did not immediately recollect that we had omitted to ask her any particulars about her guests . ` Who can Mary be ? '