about noon
But , she remembered , fortunately some or all of the mysterious gentlemen stopping at the inn , had returned and were at this moment assembled in the room adjoining hers . The Grand Duchess resolved that , at the first sign of insolent behavior or threatening on the part of the luggage carrier , these noblemen should be promptly summoned by her to the rescue of her daughter . Her anxiety was even slightly allayed at this point in her reflections , by the thought -LRB- for she had not quite outgrown an innate love of romance -RRB- that the Emperor himself might go to Virginia 's assistance . His friends were in the next room , having come down from the mountain about noon , and there seemed little doubt that he was among them . If he had not already looked out of his window , drawn by the landlady 's excited voice , the Grand Duchess resolved that , in the circumstances , it was her part as a mother to make him look out . She had promised to help Virginia , and she would help her by promoting a romantic first encounter . In a penetrating voice , which could not fail to reach the ears of the men next door , or the actors in the scene below , she adjured her daughter in English .