noon
The garden was a shade brown , and the roses had all fallen ; but there were lilies , and orange-blossoms , and poppies , and carnations , and geraniums in the pots , and musk , -- oh , yes , ever and always musk . It was like an enchanter 's spell , the knack the Senora had of forever keeping relays of musk to bloom all the year ; and it was still more like an enchanter 's spell , that Felipe would never confess that he hated it . ' But the bees liked it , and the humming-birds , -- the butterflies also ; and the air was full of them . The veranda was a quieter place now as the season 's noon grew near . The linnets were all nesting , and the finches and the canaries too ; and the Senora spent hours , every day , tirelessly feeding the mothers . The vines had all grown and spread out to their thickest ; no need any longer of the gay blanket Alessandro had pinned up that first morning to keep the sun off Felipe 's head . What was the odds between a to-day and a to-morrow in such a spot as this ?