noon
The date had been fixed while they sat at dinner ; Sir John and his elder daughter settling the day , while Denzil assented with radiant smiles , and Angela sat by in pale silence , submissive to the will of others . They were to be married on a Thursday , July 19 , and it was now the end of June -- little more than a fortnight 's interval in which to meditate upon the beginning of a new life . Mrs. Lewin promised the white and silver mantua , and as many of the new clothes as a supernatural address , industry , and obligingness , could produce within the time . Hyacinth grew more lively after supper , and parted from her father and sister in excellent spirits ; but her haggard face haunted Angela in troubled dreams all that night , and she thought of her with anxiety during the next few days , and most of all upon one long sultry day , the 4th of July , which was the third day she had spent in unbroken solitude since her father and Denzil had ridden away in the dim early morning , while the pastures were veiled in summer haze , on the first stage of a journey to London , hoping , with a long rest between noon and evening , to ride thirty-seven miles before night . They were to consult with a learned London lawyer , and to execute the marriage settlement , Sir John vastly anxious about this business , in his ignorance of law and distrust of lawyers . They were to stay in London only long enough to transact their business , and would then return post-haste to the Manor ; but as they were to ride their own horses all the way , and as lawyers are notoriously slow , Angela had been told not to expect them till the fourth evening after their departure . In her lonely rambles that long summer day , with her spaniel Ganymede , and her father 's favourite pointer , for her only companions , Angela 's thoughts dwelt ever on the past .