midnight
Of course , if she chose to break it off ... . But he must be minutely careful to do nothing which might lead to a breach . Such was Denry 's code . The walk home at midnight , amid the reverberations of the falling tempest , was marked by a slight pettishness on the part of Ruth , and by Denry 's polite taciturnity . Yet the next morning , as the three companions sat together under the striped awning of the buffet on the pier , nobody could have divined , by looking at them , that one of them at any rate was the most uncomfortable young man in all Llandudno . The sun was hotly shining on their bright attire and on the still turbulent waves . Ruth , thirsty after a breakfast of herrings and bacon , was sucking iced lemonade up a straw .