about five o'clock
_ Au revoir , mon cher _ , '' she said . `` And a pleasant time to you till we meet again . '' Then as I mounted on the car and traversed the big Piazza del Duomo , before the Cathedral , she waved her hand to me in farewell . It was , therefore , without surprise that , sitting in the hall of the hotel about five o'clock one afternoon , I watched her in an elegant white gown descending the stairs , followed by a neat French maid in black . Quickly I sprang up , bowed , and greeted her in French before a dozen or so of the idling guests . As we walked across to Pancaldi 's baths she told her new maid to go on in front , and in a few quick words explained . `` I arrived direct from Paris this morning .