midday
No possible pretext could be devised for preventing them . Why , oh , why had she persuaded that graceless dragoon to leave Aldershot and share the peace and tranquillity of home ? She might have remembered how foreign peace and tranquillity were to Jim 's mercurial disposition ; and then , Lady Mary reflected ruefully , that flirting Suffolk girl was certain to be present at the sports . In her dismay , she for a second thought of taking counsel with Pansey Cottrell as to what it were best to do under the circumstances ; but after such festivities as that of the previous night Mr. Cottrell was always invisible to every one save his valet till past midday . The hierarchy of Olympus had apparently taken the Rockcliffe games under their special protection . A more glorious April day never dawned than the Tuesday appointed for its athletic sports . Here and there a few fleecy clouds flecked the sky , as here and there a snowy patch of canvas dotted the sea .