noon
There was a grave and sedate Moor , in green turban and white flowing robes , with an assortment of gold-braided slippers and large brass trays . Next a Maltese milk-seller , in scanty garments , nothing but short canvas trousers and a shirt , who had come with cans full of goats ' - milk from the herds he kept on the barren slopes of the Rock . Not far off was the galley of the health-officer , with a crew of `` scorpion '' boatmen in neat white jackets and straw hats . On the deck of the yacht , under an awning -- for the spring sun already beat down hotly at noon -- were the owner and his guests . Lord Lydstone , cigar in mouth , lounged lazily upon a heap of rugs and cushions at the feet of Mrs. Wilders , who took her ease luxuriantly in a comfortable cane arm-chair . Blanche Cyprienne , Countess of St. Clair , had changed little since her marriage . Her beauty had gained rather than lost ; her manner was more commanding , her look more haughty .