noon
perhaps that will be best . ' So off Margaret went . She was very much inclined to play some pranks when she was dressed up at such an unusual hour ; to make her rich white silk balloon out into a cheese , to retreat backwards from her mother as if she were the queen ; but when she found that these freaks of hers were regarded as interruptions to the serious business , and as such annoyed her mother , she became grave and sedate . What had possessed the world -LRB- her world -RRB- to fidget so about her dress , she could not understand ; but that very after noon , on naming her engagement to Bessy Higgins -LRB- apropos of the servant that Mrs. Thornton had promised to inquire about -RRB- , Bessy quite roused up at the intelligence . ` Dear ! and are you going to dine at Thornton 's at Marlborough Mills ? ' ` Yes , Bessy .