noon
He revolved the intelligence he had received , wondered , guessed , hoped , and dreaded still ; and if for a moment his mind returned to the scene about him , his nature , too truly poetical for the false sentiment of the place , asked itself in what , save the polished exterior and the graceful circumstance , the mirth that he now so reluctantly witnessed differed from the brutal revels in the convent of Santa Maria -- each alike in its motive , though so differing in the manner -- equally callous and equally selfish , coining horror into enjoyment . The fair Mariana , whose partner had been reft from her , as the Queen had related , was in no mind to lose the new one she had gained . She pressed upon him from time to time the wine-flask and the fruits ; and in those unmeaning courtesies her hand gently lingered upon his . At length , the hour arrived when the companions retired to the Palace , during the fiercer heats of noon -- to come forth again in the declining sun , to sup by the side of the fountain , to dance , to sing , and to make merry by torchlight and the stars till the hour of rest . But Adrian , not willing to continue the entertainment , no sooner found himself in the apartment to which he was conducted , than he resolved to effect a silent escape , as under all circumstances the shortest , and not perhaps the least courteous , farewell left to him . Accordingly , when all seemed quiet and hushed in the repose common to the inhabitants of the South during that hour , he left his apartment , descended the stairs , passed the outer court , and was already at the gate , when he heard himself called by a voice that spoke vexation and alarm . He turned to behold Mariana .