four o'clock
It is strange , as you say , that Miss Bretherton should not have written to me ; but I incline to put it down to our old Jacques at home , who is getting more and more imbecile with the weight of years and infirmities , and is quite capable of forwarding to us all the letters which are not worth posting , and leaving all the important ones piled up in the hall to await our return . It is provoking , for , if the Bretherton party are not going to stay long in Venice , we may easily spend all our time in looking for each other ; which will , indeed , be a lame and impotent conclusion . However , I have hopes of Paul 's cleverness . ` And now , four o'clock ! There is no help for it , my dear Eustace . I must go and instruct Caterina how not to poison us in our dinner to-night . She looks a dear old soul , but totally innocent of anything but Italian barbarities in the way of cooking .