half
past eight
`` Very well , all that seems to arrange itself satisfactorily , '' said the Prince . `` Our motor drive can be stretched out for an hour and a half . The lady will then need to dress . Dinner can be kept back till half past eight , if it would suit your book to break in upon us , at the table . My dining-room is n't very grand , but it has plenty of light and color , and would n't make a bad background for the last act of this little drama . What do you say , Chancellor ? I 've always thought that your success as a stage manager of the Theater of Nations was partially due to your eye for dramatic effects . ''