four o'clock
I asked him , '' announced Jill . And David laughed back a happy `` Of course I am ! '' It is not to be expected that when one 's thoughts lead so persistently to a certain place , one 's feet will not follow , if they can ; and David 's could -- so he went to seek his Lady of the Roses . At four o'clock one afternoon , with his violin under his arm , he traveled the firm white road until he came to the shadowed path that led to the garden . He had decided that he would go exactly as he went before . He expected , in consequence , to find his Lady exactly as he had found her before , sitting reading under the roses . Great was his surprise and disappointment , therefore , to find the garden with no one in it .