midday
On one side of the apartment was a huge fireplace over which the ancestral arms hung with the arms of England over them . On the other side towered lofty windows . A screen gallery , an organ and a high table completed the hall which was the principal room of the castle and the place where all of the feasts , mummeries and masques were held . Ushers were hurrying through the great hall for it was `` covering time , '' and the household was mustering for the midday meal . Francis threaded her way through the crowd of yeomen to the door of the presence chamber , and drawing aside the arras that hid the entrance , opened it and entered . `` My father , '' she began abruptly , and then paused for she saw that her father was not alone . `` Is it you , my daughter ? ''