midnight
Alas ! that I had not questioned Mary when she had called upon me on the previous day . She had died , and her secret was lost . At midnight I was seated in the drawing-room of the Manor . Before me , dressed in plain black which made her beautiful face look even paler than it was , sat my love , bowed , despondent , silent . The household , although still astir , was hushed by the presence of the dead ; the long old room itself , usually so bright and pleasant , seemed full of dark shadows , for the lamp , beneath its yellow shade , burned but dimly , and everywhere there reigned an air of mourning . Half-demented by grief , my love had arrived in hot haste about ten o'clock , and , rushing to poor Mary 's room , had thrown herself upon her knees beside the poor inanimate clay ; for , even though of late differences might have existed between them , the sisters were certainly devoted to each other .