eleven o'clock at night
Even the innkeeper and his wife would not have pretended that she owed them much gratitude ; they were much too natural for that , and besides , the girl was too handsome , and there might be some scandal about her any day which would injure the credit of the inn . Nanna thought Paoluccio much too fond of watching her , as it was , and reflected that if she went to the city she would be well out of the way , and might go to the devil if she pleased . Regina 's plan for taking Marcello was simple , like most plans which succeed , and only depended for its success on being carried out fearlessly . The wine-carters usually came to the inn from the hills between nine and eleven o'clock at night , and the carts , heavy-laden with wine casks , stood in a line along the road , while the men went into the kitchen to eat and drink . They generally paid for what they consumed by giving a measure or two of wine from the casks they were bringing , and which they filled up with water , a very simple plan which seems to have been in use for ages . It has several advantages ; the owner of the wine does not suffer by it , since he gets his full price in town ; the man who buys the wine in Rome does not suffer , because he adds so much water to the wine before selling it that a little more or less makes no difference ; the public does not suffer , as it is well known that wine is much better for the health when drunk with plenty of water ; and the carters do not suffer , because nobody would think of interfering with them . Moreover , they get food and drink for nothing .