four o'clock
At the American legation they would be in point of law upon American soil , and there they could be married as Americans , by an American minister . After that Mrs. Cliff gave up . She was so happy she was ready to agree to anything , or to believe in anything , and she went to work with heart and hand to assist Edna in getting ready for the great event . Mrs. Sylvester , the wife of the secretary , received a note from Edna which brought her to the hotel as fast as horses were allowed to travel in the streets of Paris , and arrangements were easily made for the ceremony to take place at four o'clock that afternoon . The marriage was to be entirely private . No one was to be present but Mrs. Cliff , Ralph , and Mrs. Sylvester . Nothing was said to Cheditafa of the intended ceremony .