noon
If he had indeed loved her all those seven years he must have suffered fearfully . What the suffering had been Erica could , from her present position , understand well enough . The thought of it touched her inexpressibly , seemed to her , as indeed it was , the shadow of that Divine Love which had loved her eternally had waited for her through long years had served her and shielded her , though she never recognized its existence till at length , in one flash of light , the revelation had come to her , and she had learned the glory of Love , the murky gloom of those past misunderstandings . Those were wonderful days that they spent together at Florence , the sort of days that come but once in a life time ; for the joy of dawn is quite distinct from the bright noon day or the calm evening , distinct , too , from that second and grander dawn which awaits us in the Unseen when the night of life is over . Together they wandered through the long corridors of the Uffizzi ; together they returned again and again to the Tribune , or traversed that interminable passage across the river which leads to the Pitti Gallery , or roamed about among the old squares and palaces which are haunted by so many memories . And every day Brian meant to speak , but could not because the peace , and restfulness , and glamour of the present was so perfect , and perhaps because , unconsciously , he felt that these were `` halcyon days . '' On Sunday he made up his mind that he certainly would speak before the day was over .