noon
He cried her name sharply , like a man who has taken a physical hurt , and that was the last word that either of them spoke until they reached Thymebury Junction . This was a station isolated in the midst of moorlands , yet lying on the great up line to London . The nearest town , Thymebury itself , was seven miles distant along the branch they call the Vale of Thyme Railway . It was now nearly half an hour past noon , the down train had just gone by , and there would be no more traffic at the junction until half-past three , when the local train comes in to meet the up express at a quarter before four . The stationmaster had already gone off to his garden , which was half a mile away in a hollow of the moor ; a porter , who was just leaving , took charge of the phaeton , and promised to return it before night to Naseby House ; only a deaf , snuffy , and stern old man remained to play propriety for Dick and Esther . Before the phaeton had driven off , the girl had entered the station and seated herself upon a bench . The endless , empty moorlands stretched before her , entirely unenclosed , and with no boundary but the horizon .