midnight
In my black and stiff attire of the raven I stood near to the other hand of the Gouverneur Faulkner and there was such an anger for her in my heart that it was difficult that I made a return of the smile she cast upon me at every few minutes . Was there a mockery in that smile , that she had discovered my woman 's estate and was using her own beauty for a challenge to me ? I could not tell nor could I judge exactly what the smile of boldness which the Lieutenant , the Count de Bourdon , cast upon me , might mean . And in doubt and anxiety I stood there in that great salon for many hours to make conversation with the guest of honor easy with those who came to him for presentation , until at last I was so weary that I could not make even a good night to my Uncle , the General Robert , when we entered , long after midnight , the doors of Twin Oaks . When in my own apartment , alone with the beautiful Grandmamma , I cast myself upon the bed upon which my father had had birth , and wept with all my woman 's heart which beat so hard under that attire of the raven . `` Scarcely one more day and perhaps I must flee in dishonor from all the love of these friends , '' I sobbed to myself , but deeper than all that I wept for the picture of that beautiful woman at the side of my beloved Gouverneur Faulkner . And then suddenly as I lay in my weeping the telephone upon the table beside my bed gave a loud ringing in the darkness that was long after midnight .