nine o'clock
And thus he shrank from the intelligence he craved to hear . Thus he knew no more about the Robsons when he returned to Monkshaven , than he had done on the day when he had last seen them ; and , of course , his first task there was to give a long _ viva voce _ account of all his London proceedings to the two brothers Foster , who , considering that they had heard the result of everything by letter , seemed to take an insatiable interest in details . He could hardly tell why , but even when released from the Fosters ' parlour , he was unwilling to go to Haytersbank Farm . It was late , it is true , but on a May evening even country people keep up till eight or nine o'clock . Perhaps it was because Hepburn was still in his travel-stained dress ; having gone straight to the shop on his arrival in Monkshaven . Perhaps it was because , if he went this night for the short half-hour intervening before bed-time , he would have no excuse for paying a longer visit on the following evening . At any rate , he proceeded straight to Alice Rose 's , as soon as he had finished his interview with his employers .