midnight
Poor Eve in her despair burst into tears . `` Ah , sir ! why did you not come yesterday evening to tell me this ? We should have been spared disgrace and -- and something far worse -- '' `` I was talking with the Cointets until midnight . They are behind Metivier , as you must have suspected . But how has something worse than our poor David 's arrest happened since yesterday evening ? '' `` Here is the awful news that I found when I awoke this morning , '' she said , holding out Lucien 's letter .