noon
and went on combing her hair with the air of one who has hours before her . She wore a silken négligée of flamingo red which matched her surroundings , for this room was as flaming as the other was subdued . Yet the effect was not that of crude color ; it was , rather , that of color intensified deliberately to produce a contrast . Delilah 's bedroom was high noon under a blazing sun , the sitting-room was midnight under the stars . With her black hair at last twisted into wonderful coils , Delilah surveyed her face reflectively in the mirror , and having decided that she needed no further aid from the small jars on her dressing table , she turned to her friend . `` What shall I wear , Leila ? '' `` If I told you , '' was the calm response , `` you would n't wear it . ''