midnight
There was a barrier between himself and Maggie Lee , a barrier his own hands had built , and never again , so long as he lived , would Graham Thornton 's conscience be at rest . Amid all the pomp of his bridal day -- at the hour when , resplendent with beauty , Helen stood by his side at the holy altar , and breathed the vows which made her his forever -- amid the gay festivities which followed , and the noisy mirth which for days pervaded his home , there was ever a still , small voice which whispered to him of the great wrong he had done to Maggie Lee , who never again was seen at Greystone Hall . Much the elder Mrs. Thornton marveled at her absence , and once when her carriage was rolling past the door of the little store , she bade her coachman stop , while she herself went in to ask if her favorite were ill . Miss Olivia 's early call at Greystone Hall had never been returned , and now she bowed coldly and treated her visitor with marked reserve , until she learned why she had come ; then , indeed , her manner changed , but she could not tell her how , on the night when Graham Thornton had cruelly torn the veil from Maggie 's heart , leaving it crushed and broken , she had found her long after midnight out in the tall , damp grass , where , in the wild abandonment of grief she had thrown herself ; nor how , in a calmer moment she had told her sad story , exonerating him from wrong , and blaming only herself for not having learned sooner how much she loved one so far above her , so she simply answered , `` Yes , she took a violent cold and has been sick for weeks . Her mother died of consumption ; I am afraid Maggie will follow . '' `` Poor girl , to die so young , '' sighed Mrs. Thornton , as she returned to her carriage and was driven back to Greystone Hall , where , in a recess of the window Graham sat , his arm around his wife , and his fingers playing with the curls of her golden hair . But the hand dropped nervously at his side when his mother startled him with the news that `` Maggie Lee was dying . ''