midday
The visits met with disdain , and gradually they became less frequent . On the third day of this self-inflicted separation she sat alone from early morn until dusk without the first sign of a visit from either Lady Saxondale or Lady Jane . All day long she had been expecting them , and now she was beginning to hunger for them . A ridiculous , inconsistent irritation had been building itself in her heart since midday , and at dusk it reached its limit in unmistakable rage . That they might be willing to ignore her entirely had not entered her mind before . Her heart was very bitter toward the disagreeable creatures who left her alone all day in a stuffy room , and in a most horrid temper to boot . From below , at different times during the afternoon , came the happy laughter of men and women , rollicking songs , the banging of a piano in tantalizing `` rag-time '' by strong New York fingers , the soft boom of a Chinese dinner gong and -- oh !