four o’clock
At either end of the terrace flourished a thicket of gum-cistus , syringa , stephanotis , and geranium bushes ; and the wall itself , dropping sheer down to the road , was bordered with the customary Florentine hedge of China roses and irises , now out of bloom . Great terra-cotta flower-pots , covered with devices , were placed at intervals along the wall ; as it was summer , the oranges and lemons , full of wonderfully sweet white blossoms and young green fruit , were set there in the sun to ripen . It was the 17th of June . Although it was after four o'clock , the olives on the steep hill that went down to Florence looked blindingly white , shadeless , and sharp . The air trembled round the bright green cypresses behind the house . The roof steamed . All the windows were shut , all the jalousies shut , yet it was so hot that no one could stir within .