noon
He did not offer to accompany Grail up to the door . It wanted a week to Christmas . For many days the weather had been as bad as it can be even in London . Windows glimmered at noon with the sickly ray of gas or lamp ; the roads were trodden into viscid foulness ; all night the droppings of a pestilent rain were doleful upon the roof , and only the change from a black to a yellow sky told that the sun was risen . No wonder Thyrza was ailing . It was nothing serious . The inevitable cold had clung to her and become feverish ; it was necessary for her to stay at home for a day or two .