noon
The morning broke lowering and thunderous ; small white clouds , dull and immovable , studded the leaden sky ; the waters of the rushing Darl seemed to have become black and almost stagnant ; the terraces of Hellingsley looked like the hard lines of a model ; and the mansion itself had a harsh and metallic character . Before the chief portal of his Hall , the elder Millbank , with an air of some anxiety , surveyed the landscape and the heavens , as if he were speculating on the destiny of the day . Often his eye wandered over the park ; often with an uneasy and restless step he paced the raised walk before him . The clock of Hellingsley church had given the chimes of noon . His son and Coningsby appeared at the end of one of the avenues . His eye lightened ; his lip became compressed ; he advanced to meet them . ` Are you going to fish to-day , Oswald ? '