four o'clock
For a minute she looks at him without finishing her sentence . Then she sits up straighter and says explicitly : `` Yes , I will . '' * * * * * The gardener managed an occasional peep at them , sitting hand in hand . He wished the idyll to last as long as the clear daylight , but the hour for closing was four o'clock -- `` Il n ' y avait pas à nier . '' Either they were husband and wife , reunited , after years of war-severance ; or they were mature lovers , and probably of the most respectable . In either case , the necessary hint that ecstasies must transfer themselves at sunset from the glass houses of the Jardin Botanique to the outer air was best conveyed on this occasion by a discreet gift of flowers . Accordingly he went on to where exotic lilies were blooming , picked a few blossoms , returned , came with soft padding steps up to Vivie , offered them with a bow and `` Mes félicitations _ sincères _ , Madame . ''