midday
Did I enjoy my visit to America ? Why should I have enjoyed it ? I did n't go for my pleasure . '' These were interesting items , but Mrs. Touchett soon left her niece , whom she was to meet in half an hour at the midday meal . For this repast the two ladies faced each other at an abbreviated table in the melancholy dining-room . Here , after a little , Isabel saw her aunt not to be so dry as she appeared , and her old pity for the poor woman 's inexpressiveness , her want of regret , of disappointment , came back to her . Unmistakeably she would have found it a blessing to-day to be able to feel a defeat , a mistake , even a shame or two .