three o'clock
Two of them , who were connections of her husband 's , had once had a theory that she had locked him up and kept him a prisoner for her own ends ; a similar case had then recently occurred in Palermo , where a widowed lady and her daughter had been kept in confinement during several years , and almost starved to death , by the wicked steward of their estates . Accordingly , the aforesaid connections had appealed to the chief of secret police for information about their relative ; but in a few days he had been able to tell them confidently that the Marchese del Prato was in good health and quite free , that he was an enthusiastic scholar , and was writing an exhaustive work on the mythology of Pindar 's _ Odes _ , and that there was no cause for any anxiety about him . So that matter was settled for ever . At half-past three o'clock the Princess went away , leaving the lawyers and clerks to finish their work , for she was more than satisfied that no will nor any similar document would be found amongst the late Prince 's papers , and everything else was mere formality ; the regular inventories would be made later when the succession duties had to be paid , but meanwhile there was nothing to hinder her from taking possession in her husband 's name . Before leaving the palace she sent for the butler , and told him that ` Signorina Angela ' was to be requested to ` remove her effects ' the next day . She further condescended to inform him that the ` Signorina ' had been ascertained to be a nameless foundling who had no share in the inheritance and must shift for herself , as it was not the intention of the Prince to support such a person . The butler had learned something of the great Roman families during a brilliant career in the servants ' hall , and he could have told some singularly romantic tales , but he had never had experience of anything like this .