midnight
`` I 've been reading the biography you recommended , '' she said . He continued to look at her a moment , and laughed as he sat down beside her . Later he walked home with her . A dinner and bridge followed , and it was after midnight when she returned . As her maid unfastened her gown she perceived that her pincushion had been replaced by the one she had received at the ball . `` Did you put that there , Mathilde ? '' she asked .