six
o'clock
It was one of the great treats of Anita 's simple life to ride with her father and the proposition brought a smile , at last , into her serious face . `` At four , then , '' said the Colonel , rising to return to the headquarters building , while Anita ran to get his cap , and Mrs. Fortescue fastened his military cape around him , and his gloves were brought by the After-Clap , who had been drilled in this duty . The Colonel was well coddled , and liked it . Anita practised on her violin nearly the whole afternoon , and , not satisfied with that , sent a message to Neroda asking him to come at six o'clock , when she would have returned from her ride , and rehearse with her once more the obligatos she was to play to Broussard 's singing . Anita 's spirits rose as she rode by her father 's side in the biting cold of the wintry afternoon . They both loved these rides together and the long talks they had then . The time was , when Colonel Fortescue felt that he knew every thought in Anita 's mind , but not so any longer .