about noon
It was a lovely spring morning . The woods and fields were clothed with the freshest green ; the mountain tops beamed in the most beautiful opal tints , and the blue sky was without a cloud . Laura enjoyed her drive very much . At Wendover they stopped to rest and water the horses , and then they resumed their journey and went on to Lytton Lodge , where they arrived just about noon . John Lytton was evidently on the lookout for his niece , for as the pony-carriage drove up , amid the barking of all the dogs and the shouting of all the little negroes , he rushed out of the house , throwing up his arms ; and he caught Laura and lifted her bodily from her seat , roaring his welcome . And Laura , as she returned his honest , hearty greeting , felt a twinge of self-reproach in remembering with what reluctance she had come . Uncle John took her into the house and set her down in the hall in the midst of all her relations , who had crowded there to welcome here .