nine o’clock
Nearly half of Spain was for Don Carlos . The Church sided with him , and the best soldiers were those who , unpaid , unfed , and half clad , fought on the southern slopes of the Pyrenees for a man who dared not lead them . Sir John Pleydell had intended crossing the frontier into Portugal , following the carriage conveying his prisoner to the seaport of Lisbon , where he anticipated no difficulty in finding a ship captain who would be willing to carry Conyngham to England . All this , however , had been frustrated by so unimportant a person as Concepçion Vara , and the carriage ordered for nine o'clock to proceed to Talavera now stood in the courtyard of the hotel , while the Baronet in his lonely apartment sat and wondered what he should do next . He had dealt with justice all his life , and had ensued it not from love , but as a matter of convenience and a means of livelihood . From the mere habit , he now desired to do justice to Conyngham . ` See if you can find out for me the whereabouts of General Vincente at the moment , and let the carriage wait , ' he said to his servant , a valet-courier of taciturn habit .