noon
But with his two thousand dollars as capital they could afford to plunge ; they could go upon a honeymoon ; they need not dread a rainy day , and , what was of greatest importance , they need not delay . There was good reason against delay , for the hand of the beautiful Claire was already promised . The Widow Ducrot had promised it to Paillard , he of the prosperous commission business , the prominent _ embonpoint _ , and four children . Monsieur Paillard possessed an establishment of his own , but it was a villa in the suburbs ; and so , each day at noon , for his _ déjeûné _ he left his office and crossed the street to the Café Ducrot . For five years this had been his habit . At first it was the widow 's cooking that attracted him , then for a time the widow herself ; but when from the convent Claire came to assist her mother in the café , and when from a lanky , big-eyed , long-legged child she grew into a slim , joyous , and charming young woman , she alone was the attraction , and the Widower Paillard decided to make her his wife . Other men had made the same decision ; and when it was announced that between Claire and the widower a marriage had been `` arranged , '' the clerks in the foreign commission houses and the agents of the steamship lines drowned their sorrow in rum and ran the house flags to half-staff .