one o'clock
Carmen shivered , and turning away from him without another word she went back to the house . No one had seen them talking together ; and even if they had been seen it would not have mattered . Mrs. Gaylor often chatted with the old squirrel poisoner , who was known to be devoted to her ; a harmless creature who hurt nobody -- except himself and the squirrels . When the musical gong sounded for luncheon , and Carmen came down from her room at one o'clock , she found her guest already in the garden , as lovely a garden as Angela had seen in her sleep . For a minute Carmen stood on a step of the brick terrace , looking at the slender figure in white . Angela did not hear the faint rustling of muslin . Her back was half turned to the house , and she was watching the aerial architecture of the fountain , delicate domes and pinnacles built of crystal .