eleven o’clock
Then , taking Colomba aside -- `` Signorina , '' he said , `` you can send word to your brother that this business promises to turn out better than I had expected . The post-mortem examination and the colonel 's deposition both prove that he only defended himself , and that he was alone when the fight took place . Everything will be settled -- only he must leave the _ maquis _ and give himself up to the authorities . '' It was almost eleven o'clock when the colonel , his daughter , and Colomba sat down at last to their supper , which had grown cold . Colomba ate heartily , and made great fun of the prefect , the public prosecutor , and the soldiers . The colonel ate too , but never said a word , and gazed steadily at his daughter , who would not lift her eyes from her plate . At last , gently but seriously , he said in English : `` Lydia , I suppose you are engaged to della Rebbia ? ''