midnight
When he came away from his banquet , the next evening , it was pouring rain , and he had nothing but his victoria . A friend offered to take him home in a closed carriage , and as Odette , by the fact of her having invited him to come , had given him an assurance that she was expecting no one else , he could , with a quiet mind and an untroubled heart , rather than set off thus in the rain , have gone home and to bed . But perhaps , if she saw that he seemed not to adhere to his resolution to end every evening , without exception , in her company , she might grow careless , and fail to keep free for him just the one evening on which he particularly desired it . It was after eleven when he reached her door , and as he made his apology for having been unable to come away earlier , she complained that it was indeed very late ; the storm had made her unwell , her head ached , and she warned him that she would not let him stay longer than half an hour , that at midnight she would send him away ; a little while later she felt tired and wished to sleep . `` No cattleya , then , to-night ? '' he asked , `` and I 've been looking forward so to a nice little cattleya . '' But she was irresponsive ; saying nervously : `` No , dear , no cattleya tonight .