noon
Then he flung himself into bed , but got no sleep until past dawn . Rising at the usual hour , he told himself that this would not do ; to live on in this way was mere moral suicide ; he resolved to run down to St. Neots , whence , if his mother were capable of the journey , she and Jane might go for a week or two to the seaside . So , having packed his travelling bag , he walked to the shop , and arranged with Allchin for a week 's absence , greatly to the assistant 's satisfaction . Before noon he was at The Haws . But the idea of a family expedition to the seaside could not be carried out : Mrs. Warburton was not strong enough to leave home , and Jane had just invited a friend to come and spend a week with them . Disguising as best he could his miserable state of mind and body , Will stayed for a couple of days . The necessity for detailed lying about his affairs in London -- lying which would long ago have been detected , but for the absolute confidence of his mother and sister , and the retired habits of their life -- added another cause of unrest to those already tormenting him , and he was glad to escape into solitude .