noon
It was all the more needful , then , that Julian should put his duty before him . He was a father and the Prince would expect to see him in the matter of his daughter 's hand . He must set off at once for London . The grey noon darkened rapidly as the long-pent sea-mist overflowed the cliff , wallowing and billowing like an oceanic invasion , over the face of the moor . Whitefoot brought back hidden in his collar the simple message , `` I shall be there , '' signed with the well-known crabbed fist of `` Adam Ferris , '' traditional in his family for some hundreds of years , which seemed completely identical with signatures in the family chartularies . By this time Stair had finished his letter to Patsy , but with unusual care he corrected it , and had it recopied before it was time to set out . He would send it on to Jean that night , and it would be in Patsy 's hands before these wise people , to whom she had not written , had done taking counsel together .