noon
That afternoon , also , Dr. Willet came to Blue Cliffs , and Emma had to accompany him to the bedside of her grandmother , and afterward to hold quite a long conversation with him in the library . A few minutes after the doctor left the house , Mr. Lyle , who had heard of the illness of Mrs. Cavendish , arrived to inquire after her condition . Emma had to receive the minister and accompany him to her grandmother 's chamber , and to stay there and join in the prayers that were offered for the sick woman . Mr. Lyle remained with the family all the afternoon ; and having received from Mr. Lytton a notice of the ceremony he was desired to perform the next day , he promised to be at Blue Cliff Hall again punctually at noon , and then took leave . Very early the next morning Alden Lytton mounted the swiftest horse in the Cavendish stables and rode to Wendover to procure his marriage license . He did not stay long in the village , you may be sure ; but , leaving his horse to rest and drink at the Reindeer trough , he hurried to the town-hall and took out his license , returned to the inn , remounted his horse , and rode immediately back to Blue Cliff Hall . As he rode up the avenue toward the front of the house he saw that there had already been some arrival .