midday
Where are you off to ? ' It was the alarmed cry of a classmate . Bloomah took to her heels , her face a fiery mass of shame and grief . Towards midday Becky 's fish , nicely browned and sprigged with parsley , stood cooling on the great blue willow-pattern dish , and Becky 's neuralgia abated , perhaps from the mental relief of the spectacle . When the clock struck twelve , Bloomah was allowed to scamper off to school in the desperate hope of saving the afternoon attendance . The London sky was of lead , and the London pavement of mud , but her heart was aglow with hope . As she reached the familiar street a certain strangeness in its aspect struck her .