about noon
All that night she did not sleep , and the next morning she went about abashed , wretched , hardly mistress of her own maids . She must confess it also to Martha , and Martha would be very stern to her . Martha had pooh-poohed the whole story of the lover , seeming to think that there could be no reasonable objection to a lover past fifty . `` Dorothy , '' she said at last , about noon , `` I have been over hasty about your mother and this man . I am sorry for it , and must -- beg -- everybody 's -- pardon . '' `` I knew mamma would do nothing wrong , '' said Dorothy . `` To do wrong is human , and she , I suppose , is not more free than others ; but in this matter I was misinformed .