one o'clock
The pose was artistically perfect . Lastly , with one or two dexterous touches and shakes , she so arranged her wealth of hair as to combine an appearance of the most perfect negligee with a thoroughly artistic disposition of it , which , while it displayed to the best advantage the tresses themselves , served also to heighten the effect of the contours of neck and bust , which they partly showed and partly concealed . And then the Diva waited patiently . She had , as she had said to Gigia , no certain knowledge that he would come , nor even any very clear reason to believe that he would do so -- that he would come , that is to say , earlier than one o'clock , at which hour it had been arranged that he should meet Stadione there . Nevertheless , Bianca had a strong persuasion that he would come earlier . Despite what she had said to Quinto Lalli of the circumstances and signs which seemed to indicate that the Marchese was not a man likely to be exposed to danger from such attacks as the Diva meditated making on him , -- despite the fact that she had said to herself also all that she had said to her old friend , there had been something about the Marchese 's manner -- something in that last pressure of palm to palm that had set Bianca speculating as to the meaning of it . It was not a mere manifestation of admiration ; the Diva was used enough to that in all its forms , and could read every tone of its language .