midnight
It 's a whim of mine , a wild idea ; but , what does love exist for , if not to make people do the foolish things that sweeten life ? ... Carry me off in your boat ! The bark that bore you there will transport the two of us to your enchanted island ; we will spend the whole night in the open air . '' And Rafael , who was flattered by the idea of taking his love publicly down the river , through the slumbering countryside , unfastened his boat at midnight under the bridge and rowed it to a canebrake near Leonora 's orchard . An hour later they emerged through the opening in the hedge , arm in arm , laughing at the mischievous escapade , disturbing the majestic silence of the landscape with noisy , insolent kisses . They got into the boat , and with a favoring current , began to descend the Júcar , lulled by the murmur of the river as it glided between the high mudbanks covered with reeds that bent low over the water and formed mysterious hiding places . Leonora clapped her hands with delight .