Definition of "niched"

They left early, yet the evening had seemed interminable; and considering that Emily was niched between an inlaid table, on which stood a shepherd in a yellow jacket offering a China—Chinese I mean—rose to a shepherdess in green and pink—and a tea-pot, all exquisite Dresden specimens—and an old lady, of whose shawl and shoulders Emily had the full benefit,...

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], page 253