noon
For her own sake as well as his she was glad that he had got off so well , for otherwise she would have felt bound to tell her father the whole story , and she was not at all so sure as Malcolm that he would have been satisfied with his reasons , and would not have been indignant with the fellow for presuming even to be silent concerning his daughter . Indeed Lady Florimel herself felt somewhat irritated with him , as having brought her into the awkward situation of sharing a secret with a youth of his position . For a few days the weather was dull and unsettled , with cold flaws , and an occasional sprinkle of rain . But after came a still gray morning , warm and hopeful , and ere noon the sun broke out , the mists vanished , and the day was glorious in blue and gold . Malcolm had been to Scaurnose , to see his friend Joseph Mair , and was descending the steep path down the side of the promontory , on his way home , when his keen eye caught sight of a form on the slope of the dune which could hardly be other than that of Lady Florimel . She did not lift her eyes until he came quite near , and then only to drop them again with no more recognition than if he had been any other of the fishermen . Already more than half inclined to pick a quarrel with him , she fancied that , presuming upon their very commonplace adventure and its resulting secret , he approached her with an assurance he had never manifested before , and her head was bent motionless over her book when he stood and addressed her .