midday
This was on the Monday , and on the Wednesday the invalid was to return , so that already there were great bustle and excitement at the cottage , preparing and making ready , for there really was a great deal to do . The room which had always been used as a parlour was now to be turned out and whitewashed and papered , and turned into a bedroom for the invalid , that he might not have to go up and down the stairs . Indeed , the whole house was made sweet and bright inside and out , the garden rails and the front door were given a coat of paint , and the garden itself made as neat as a December garden could be , though it was robbed of some of Bella 's finest chrysanthemums to decorate the house on the longed-for day . Their father was to leave the hospital soon after the midday meal there , reaching home early in the afternoon before the light began to wane , but by one o'clock the four children had taken up their position at the top of the lane to watch for the coming carriage . As the time drew near when it might be expected , Aunt Maggie came and joined them , and further along the road they saw Mrs. Carter waiting to wave a welcome to their invalid , and presently others came , until there was quite a little gathering , anxious to show their neighbour how glad they were to see him back . When the long-looked-for carriage came in sight , and Tom and the children darted forward to meet it , Bella could not go with them . Such a lump rose in her throat , such blinding tears to her eyes , such a feeling of love and pity and sorrow welled up in her heart , she could scarcely restrain herself from sobbing aloud , and turning quickly she walked stumblingly back to the empty house .