noon
I told you then that the secret of a woman 's meal-ticket was never hidden very long . '' During this speech Mrs. Condor 's voice had dropped from its original tone of petty rancor to one of petulant self-justification . Stillman knew at once that her ill-temper had caught her off-guard and she was already trying to crawl slowly back into his favor . She had meant , no doubt , to soften her news over a glass or two of chilled white wine which she had counted on sipping during the noon hour . She might even then have gone farther and decided to cast her fortunes with Stillman and Claire if she had seen that her advantage lay in that direction . He was not sure but that she still had some such notion in her mind . But he felt suddenly sick of her past all hope of compromise , and he was determined to be rid of her once and for all .