noon
Hamilton 's keen , quick , satisfied glance at his wife had recalled to Imogen all her inventory of speculations about them . She looked at him with compassionate surprise . As a child she had never permitted herself to believe that Hamilton cared at all for the woman who had taken him away from her ; and since she had begun to think about them again , it had never occurred to her that anyone could become attached to Flavia in that deeply personal and exclusive sense . It seemed quite as irrational as trying to possess oneself of Broadway at noon . When they went out to dinner Imogen realized the completeness of Flavia 's triumph . They were people of one name , mostly , like kings ; people whose names stirred the imagination like a romance or a melody . With the notable exception of M. Roux , Imogen had seen most of them before , either in concert halls or lecture rooms ; but they looked noticeably older and dimmer than she remembered them .