noon
`` We wo n't count on you , '' said his aunt ; `` if you 're not there when the train comes , your uncle and I will abandon you to the mercy of Lorraine . '' `` I shall send him on by freight , '' said Lorraine , trying to smile . `` I 'm going back to the Château de Nesville to-night for an hour or two , '' observed Jack , finishing his Moselle ; `` the marquis wanted me to help him on the last touches . He makes an ascent to-morrow noon . '' `` Take a lantern , then , '' said Madame de Morteyn ; `` do n't you want Jules , too -- if you 're going on foot through the forest ? '' `` Do n't want Jules , and the squirrels wo n't eat me , '' laughed Jack , looking across at Lorraine . He was thinking of that first dash in the night together , she riding with the fury of a storm-witch , her ball-gown in ribbons , her splendid hair flashing , he galloping at her stirrup , putting his horse at a dark figure that rose in their path ; and then the collision , the trample , the shots in the dark , and her round white shoulder seared with the bullet mark .