two o'clock
`` I ca n't promise you any thing extra , '' said Mr. Smith , as they walked along . `` Nothing more than a good , plain family dinner , and a warm welcome . '' `` All I could ask or desire , '' returned Mr. Jones . It was a few minutes to two o'clock . The bell had rung for dinner ; and I was just rising to go to the dining room , when I heard the street door open , and the sound of my husband 's voice in the passage . There was a man in company with him , for I distinctly heard the tread of a pair of feet . What could this mean ?