noon
They would walk back to the part of London that they knew . From there they would make their inquiries , those inquiries which were to land them in France . In their old quarters , perhaps in their old home , they might get lodgings . Walking straight on , Cecile asked every policeman she met to direct them to Bloomsbury , but whether the police were careless and told them wrong , whether the distance was too great , or whether Cecile 's little head was too young to remember , noon came , and noon passed , and they were still far , far away from the court where their father and stepmother had died . Soon after noon , Cecile , Maurice , and Toby sat down to shelter and rest themselves on a step under the deep porch of an old church . The wind had got up , and was very cold , and already the bright morning sky had clouded over . There was a promise of snow in the air and in the dull sky , and the children shivered and drew close to each other .