about four in the afternoon
The cablegram had come while the curtains were being made , but everything was ready two days before the wayfarers could possibly reach home . On the appointed day , Rose and Isabel were almost as excited as Madame Bernard herself . She had chosen to go over alone to greet the Colonel and his son . They were expected to arrive about four in the afternoon . At three , Madame set forth in her carriage . She wore her best gown , of lavender crepe , trimmed with real lace , and a bunch of heliotrope at her belt . Rose had twined a few sprays of heliotrope into her snowy hair and a large amethyst cross hung from her neck by a slender silver chain .