a
quarter past eleven
The Princess stammered in a mysterious tone : `` Do n't you know then , Nadine , that to-day is the anniversary ? ... and I am frightened ! '' * * * * * Princess Sonia Danidoff was in her bath robe . It must have been a quarter past eleven , or even nearer midnight than that . Although she had lived in Paris for years , she had never been able to make up her mind to settle in a flat of her own . Possessing an immense fortune , she much preferred the American way of living , and had taken a suite of rooms in one of those great palace-hotels near the place de l'Etoile . Though a very smart staff of servants was reserved for her exclusive use , her favourite attendant was a pretty Circassian , in whom she had absolute confidence .