an hour before noon
Some hours he lay awake that night . Should he write his hopes and wishes ? No : he would hear the answer from her own lips , and the next morning an opportunity appeared to present itself . The vessel did not leave Dover till an hour before noon , and breakfast having been despatched by half-past nine , Mrs. Greville persuaded her daughter to take a gentle walk in the intervening time . Herbert instantly offered to escort her . Emmeline remained to assist Mrs. Greville in some travelling arrangements , and Mr. Hamilton employed himself in some of those numberless little offices which active men take upon themselves in the business of a departure . Mary shrunk with such evident reluctance from this arrangement , that for the first time Herbert doubted .