"Directly" in the meaning of "As soon as"

I've just read my first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. In it, I have found several instances of the word "directly" being used in a way I am not familiar with. It appears to have the meaning "when" or "right after" or "as soon as":

"Directly the cards were dealt I kicked myself."

Directly Bond and Leiter had left to walk over to the hotel, she had telephoned.

Directly the boot was shut, the third man [...] climbed in beside him [...].

Directly they sat down, he apologized gaily for having startled her at the telephone booth [...].

etc.

Is this an obsolete used of the word? Is this only British English? I have read quite a lot of books from many different time periods, but I've never stumbled across this before - do other authors besides Fleming use "directly" in this way?

Solution 1:

As reported by the NOAD, using directly to mean "as soon as" is British English usage.
Directly was once used to mean "in a little while, soon"; this use was common to American and British English.

She fell asleep directly she got into bed.
I'll be back directly.

Solution 2:

This usage isn't (quite) obsolete, in Britain at least, but is relatively formal and associated with a 20th century RP mode of speech and writing, which tallies with the Fleming source. Related to your examples is its use to mean 'in a short time', as in 'I'll be with you directly,' and the nice Cornish word dreckly.

Solution 3:

Growing up I was more used to "directly" being used to mean at some indeterminate time in the future. I understand now that the correct dictionary meaning is "as soon as" or "at once", but my Mother and some other adults I used to know used it to to slow down an expectation (more in line with the definition above of "soon, in a little while"). Interesting how a word can be turned around to mean almost the exact opposite of what the actual definition is.

Solution 4:

I live in Texas and I remember my great-grandmother, born in 1907, regularly used it to mean "in a little while". Anytime she was leaving, "I'll be back directly" (pronounced "dreckly"). Anytime she was coming, "I'll see you directly" (again, "dreckly").