noon
Mister Jan would soon return ; the fortnight was already past ; each day as she rose she felt he might come to claim her before the evening . And , meanwhile , other concerns occupied her thoughts . The voice which spoke to her after she bid John Barren `` good-by , '' had since then similarly sounded on the ear of her heart . Alike at high noon and in the silence of the night watches it addressed her ; and the mystery of it , taken with her other sorrows , began to affect her physically . For the first time in her life the girl felt ill in body . Her appetite failed , dawn found her sick and weary ; her glass told her of a white , unhappy face , of eyes that were lighted from within and shone with strange thoughts . She was always listening now -- listening for the new voice , that she might hear the word it uttered .