noon
The day passed and the morrow came -- the second of July . She rose on that day and went down-stairs the shadow of her former self -- pale , cold , and silent . She did not say to herself `` He will come to-day , '' hope was dying within her . Then at noon came the letter -- her maid brought it in . She gave a low cry of delight when she saw the beloved handwriting , that was followed by a cry of pain . He would not have written if he had been coming ; that he had written proved that he had no intention of coming . She took the letter , but she dared not trust herself to open it in the presence of her maid ; but when the girl was gone , as there was no human eye to rest on the tortured face she could not control , she opened it .