midnight
Her older sister stared into the fire , a skein of silk in one hand , a needle in the other . Deep silence prevailed , broken only by lagging footsteps on the stairs , as one by one the servants crept away to bed ; there was an occasional burst of stifled laughter , a last echo of the wedding festivity , or doors were opened as they still talked among themselves , then shut . A smothered sound came now and again from the bedrooms , a chair fell , the old coachman coughed feebly , then all was silent . In a little while the dark majesty with which sleeping earth is invested at midnight brought all things under its sway . No lights shone but the light of the stars . The frost gripped the ground . There was not a sound of a voice , nor a living creature stirring .