noon
And the old man looking into his face saw that there was something wrong . `` Shure an ' he ai n't going to sthrike off now , '' said this Irish Caleb Balderstone to himself . He also as well as some others about Desmond Court had feared greatly that Lady Clara would throw herself away upon a poor lover . It was now past noon , and Fitzgerald pressed forward into the room in which Lady Clara usually sat . It was the same in which she had received Owen 's visit , and here of a morning she was usually to be found alone ; but on this occasion when he opened the door he found that her mother was with her . Since the day on which Clara had disposed of herself so excellently , the mother had spent more of her time with her daughter . Looking at Clara now through Herbert Fitzgerald 's eyes , the Countess had began to confess to herself that her child did possess beauty and charm .