midnight
Ere Cleonice recovered herself , Pausanias was gone , his wild and uncomprehended boasts still ringing in her ear . She sighed heavily , and turned towards the opening that admitted to the terraces . There she stood watching for the parting of her lover 's boat . It was midnight ; the air , laden with the perfumes of a thousand fragrant shrubs and flowers that bloom along that coast in the rich luxuriance of nature , was hushed and breathless . In its stillness every sound was audible , the rustling of a leaf , the ripple of a wave . She heard the murmur of whispered voices below , and in a few moments she recognised , emerging from the foliage , the form of Pausanias ; but he was not alone . Who were his companions ?