About ten in the morning
So there were horse-races and cock-fights and bear-baitings , as well as dinners and suppers , at which much sack and aqua vitæ was drunk to king , church , and reigning beauties . And if a quarrel sprung , full armed , from the heated brains of young gallants , crossed rapiers did but add a piquancy , a dash of cayenne , to life . Popular with the elder gentlemen because of his excellent Madeira , quick wit , jovial soul , and friendship with the Governor , and with the younger by virtue of being father to Mistress Patricia Verney , Colonel Richard Verney had no difficulty in securing a score of guests for a day 's entertainment at Verney Manor . About ten in the morning of the appointed day the guests began to arrive , some by water , some on horseback , Colonel Verney meeting each arrival with a stately bow and a high-flown speech of welcome , and handing him on to the hall where stood Sir Charles Carew and the ladies of the household . Upon a pillion behind her father , Major Miles Carrington , Surveyor-General to the Colony , came Mistress Betty Carrington , bosom friend to Mistress Patricia Verney . Her sweetly serious face , pensive eyes , and smooth , dark hair , with her dress of sober silk and kerchief of finest lawn , demurely crossed over her bosom , contrasted finely with Patricia 's radiant beauty , decked in shimmering satin and rich lace , and heightened by a tinge of vermilion upon the smooth cheek , and a long black patch beneath the left temple . The two met like friends whom weary years have parted , and indeed they had not seen each other for nearly a week .