noon
He went to the theatre once a week , and was often accompanied by `` lady friends '' who were `` elegant dressers . '' In a moment of wrath Stephen had called him a `` counter-jumper , '' but it was a libel . So short and rough a means of exit from his place of power was wholly beneath Claude 's dignity . It was with a `` Pardon me , Miss Dix , '' that , the noon hour having arrived , he squeezed by that slave and victim , and raising the hinged board that separated his kingdom from that of the ribbon department , passed out of the store , hat in hand , serene in the consciousness that though other clerks might nibble luncheon from a brown paper bag , he would speedily be indulging in an expensive repast ; and Miss Dix knew it , and it was a part of his almost invincible attraction for her . It seemed flying in the face of Providence to decline the attentions of such a gorgeous butterfly of fashion simply because one was engaged to marry another man at some distant day . All Edgewood femininity united in saying that there never was such a perfect gentleman as Claude Merrill ; and during the time when his popularity was at its height Rose lost sight of the fact that Stephen could have furnished the stuff for a dozen Claudes and have had enough left for an ordinary man besides . April gave place to May , and a veil hung between the lovers , -- an intangible , gossamer-like thing , not to be seen with the naked eye , but , oh !