half past four
This was the letter : `` MY DEAR MOTHER : This will be handed to you at four o'clock . At that hour I shall be in Ventura , accompanied by the Grand Duke Alexander , and , as we are making the trip by automobile , it may be that we shall neither of us return in time for your dinner this evening . '' `` If , however , on reading this you will wire me at Ventura your full consent to my marriage with Miss Middleton , I think I can guarantee that your dinner party will be a success . '' `` I shall be in Ventura till half past four . Should I fail to hear from you by that time , we shall continue our journey toward Los Angeles as fast as our six-cylinders will take us . '' `` It grieves me more than I can tell you to employ this cavalier method against you , but my softer appeals have been in vain . '' `` While not a party to the plot , the duke , I find is something of a philosopher ; I do not look for any resistance on his part .