four until seven
Milly called her `` mean , '' and meanness in her eyes was the most detestable of human vices . The famous `` tea '' marked another advance in Milly 's career . It proved beyond question her gift for the life she had elected . Simple as this affair was -- `` from four until seven '' -- it had to be created out of whole cloth and involved a marvellous display of energy and tact on Milly 's part . First her father and grandmother had to be accustomed to the idea . `` I ai n't much on Sassiety myself , '' Horatio protested , when the subject was first broached . -LRB- He had an exasperating habit of becoming needlessly ungrammatical when he wished to `` take Milly down . '' -RRB-