noon on Saturday
Had he suspected , however , the trend her thoughts were taking , he would have been greatly perturbed . Momentous thoughts rarely racked Mrs. Daney 's placid and somewhat bovine brain , but once she became possessed with the notion that Nan Brent was the only human being possessed of undoubted power to create or suppress a scandal which some queer feminine intuition warned her impended , the more firmly did she become convinced that it was her Christian duty to call upon Nan Brent and strive to present the situation in a common-sense light to that erring young Woman . Having at length attained to this resolution , a subtle peace settled over Mrs. Daney , the result , doubtless , of a consciousness of virtue regained , since she was about to right a wrong to which she had so thoughtlessly been a party . Her decision had almost been reached when her husband , coming home for luncheon at noon on Saturday , voiced the apprehension which had harassed him during the week . `` Donald will be home from the woods to-night , '' he announced , in troubled tones . `` I do hope he 'll not permit that big heart of his to lead him into further kindnesses that will be misunderstood by certain people in case they hear of them . I have never known a man so proud and fond of a son as The Laird is of Donald . ''