noon
Charlotte announced with meekness that she was ready for whatever work Celia might find for her , and was given various rooms up-stairs to sweep and dust , her sister being confident that vigorous manual labour would be the best tonic for a mind dispirited . As for Celia herself , she dismissed Delia , the maid of all work , with a kindly farewell and the letters of recommendation her mother had prepared , and plunged eagerly into business . She was a born manager , and loved many of the details of housework , particularly the baking and brewing , and she was soon enthusiastically employed in putting the small kitchen to rights . At noon Charlotte and the boys were served with a light luncheon , with the promise of greater joys to come , and by five in the afternoon the house was filled with the delightful odours of successful cookery . At that hour Charlotte , whose labours had been enlarged by herself to cover a thorough overhauling of the entire house -- such tasks being her special aversion , and therefore to be discharged without mitigation on this first day of self-sacrifice -- wandered disconsolately into the kitchen with broom and dust-pan , looking sadly weary . She gazed with envious eyes at her sister , flying about in a big apron , with sleeves rolled up , her cheeks like carnations , her eyes bright with triumph . `` Well , you do start in with vim , '' the younger sister observed , dropping into a chair with a long sigh .