twenty-five minutes to ten
Wogan had miscalculated the time which he would require . It had taken longer than he had anticipated to reach the villa against the storm ; his conflict with Jenny in the portico had consumed valuable minutes ; he had been at some pains to over-persuade the Princess-mother ; Jenny herself amongst the trees in the darkness had waited more than the quarter of an hour demanded of her ; Wogan himself , absorbed each moment in that moment 's particular business , -- now bending all his wits to vanquish Jenny , now to vanquish the Princess-mother , -- even Wogan had neglected how the time sped . He looked at his watch . It was twenty-five minutes to ten , and at ten the magistrate would be knocking at the door . `` I am ready , '' said Clementina , drawing the wet cloak about her shoulders and its hood over her head . She barely shivered under its wet heaviness . `` There 's one more thing to be done before you go , '' said Wogan ; but before he could say what that one thing was , Jenny , who had now recovered her shoe , ran across the room and took the beautiful heiress by both hands .