noon
`` Who has arranged the guards and chosen the sites for the beacons ? '' `` Edric , of course , as general of the forces under the king . '' I could say no more -- it was useless -- but I felt very sick at heart . After the noon meat I left the palace , and found my brother ready to depart for home . His interview had been the counterpart of mine . Neither had he succeeded in convincing the sheriff that there was any danger to be apprehended . Well , all we can do is to prepare ourselves for the worst .