noon
Adelaide did not see her again until the morning of the last day , when she appeared on deck dressed beautifully and youthfully for the shore , her skin as fair and smooth as a girl 's , and looking like an elder sister of Adelaide 's -- at a distance . She paused in New York ; Adelaide hastened to Saint X , though she was looking forward uneasily to her arrival because she feared she would have to live at the old Hargrave house in University Avenue . Miss Skeffington ruled there , and she knew Miss Skeffington -- one of those old-fashioned old maids whose rigid ideas of morality extend to the ordering of personal habits in minutest detail . Under her military sway everyone had to rise for breakfast at seven sharp , had to dine exactly at noon , sup when the clock struck the half hour after five . Ingress and egress for members of the family was by the side door only , the front door being reserved for company . For company also was the parlor , and for company the front stairs with their brilliant carpet , new , though laid for the first time nearly a quarter of a century before ; for company also was the best room in the house , which ought to have been attractive , but was a little damp from being shut up so much , and was the cause of many a cold to guests . `` I simply ca n't stand it to live by the striking of clocks ! ''