noon
PART FIRST AT LOWER CHARLESWOOD It was high noon of a perfect summer 's day . Beneath green sun blinds , upon the terrace overlooking the lawns , Paul Mario , having finished his lunch , lay back against the cushions of a white deck-chair and studied the prospect . Sloping turf , rose-gay paths , and lichened brick steps , hollowed with age , zigzagging leisurely down to the fir avenue , carried the eye onward again to where the river wound its way through verdant banks toward the distant town . A lark wooed the day with sweet music .