seven in the evening
On the contrary -- breakfast , a smoke , and a nap , '' corrected Guillaume in a contented tone . `` Then , my friend , we shall be ready for anything that may occur -- for anything in the world we shall be ready . '' `` I wonder if you will , '' thought Paul de Roustache , resentfully eyeing the glass which M. Guillaume had emptied . It remains to add only that , on the advice and information of the innkeeper , the Cross on the roadside up the hill behind the village had been suggested as the rendezvous , and that seven in the evening had seemed a convenient hour to propose for the meeting . For Guillaume had no reason to suppose that a prior engagement would take the Captain to the same neighbourhood at six . Beneath the reserved and somewhat melancholy front which he generally presented to the world , the Count of Fieramondi was of an ardent and affectionate disposition . Rather lacking , perhaps , in resolution and strength of character , he was the more dependent on the regard and help of others , and his fortitude was often unequal to the sacrifices which his dignity and his pride demanded .