noon
She had cordiality for the baron , and love for me . The little baroness was n't twenty , and she was a coquette to the core . I say this , in the first place , to excuse her , and , in the second place , to give an exact impression of her character . So at noon , in the arms of Hermance , I made my entry to the reserve . It was a dormitory of dresses , an immense room on the third story , very large , and lined with wardrobes of white oak , carefully locked . In the middle of the room was an ottoman , on which Hermance deposited me ; after which she slid back ten or twelve wardrobe doors , one after the other . Dresses upon dresses !