noons
If only she had gone alone ... if there had been no man in the case to complicate matters and compromise the situation -- in that first moment of despair Toni hated Leonard Dowson , loathed herself for imagining it would be possible to go away with him ; and at the same time realized that whatever happened she would find it almost impossible to explain the man 's introduction into the affair in any way save that which , were the story known , would be taken , perhaps naturally , for granted . Suddenly the thought of Italy flashed into her brain , and with the thought came instant resolution . She had still twelve pounds in her purse -- more than enough to take her to Naples ; and once there she could surely discover some friend of the bygone days to whom she might apply for advice as to her future maintenance . In Italy she could live frugally , as the peasants lived ; and all at once Toni felt a great nostalgia for the glowing South , with its sunshine and hot blue skies , its orange-groves , its languorous noons and warm , scented nights . The Italian blood in her -- the blood transmitted to her by her mother , spoke in its turn ; and suddenly Toni felt that in that land of warmth and colour she could find the rest and peace for which her sorely-driven soul cried out ... . And then the miracle happened . Later that evening she was standing on the platform of another great station , waiting her turn to approach the booking-office where she might obtain her ticket to Italy -- and home -- when a wail in a thin foreign voice fell upon her ear , and she turned round to face a dark and agitated-looking young woman , neatly dressed , who was bewailing herself in the fluent Italian of the lower classes .