nine o’clock
`` And , sir , shall I be permitted to come home in time for you to receive me ? '' `` I fear I must forego that pleasure . The ladies will insist on cards and supper . Jumbo shall come for you at nine o'clock . '' Aurelia submitted , and tripped down arrayed in the dress that recalled the fete at Carminster , except that only a little powder was sprinkled on her temples . The little girls jumped round her in admiring ecstasy , and , under Molly 's charge , escorted her to the garden gate , and hovered outside to see her admitted , while she knocked timidly at the door , in the bashful alarm of making her first independent visit . The loutish man ushered her into a small close room , containing a cat , a little spaniel , a green parrot , a spinning-wheel , and an embroidery frame .