midnight
As fortune 's wheel had twirled , I had my life , to be sure ; but by the having of it was made the basest traitor to my friend -- to Jennifer , and no whit less to Margery . 'T was out of any thought that I should take the field against the common enemy , leaving this tangled web of mystery and misery behind . In sheerest decency I owed it first to Jennifer to make a swift and frank confession of the ill-concluded tale of happenings . That done , I owed it equally to him and Margery to find some way to set aside the midnight marriage . So I fell back upon my wound for an excuse , telling the captain that I was not yet fit to take the field -- which was true enough . Whereupon he and his men set me well beyond the danger of immediate pursuit and we parted company . When I was left alone I had no plan that reached beyond the day 's end .