midnight
The thought stirred faintly the memory of her old wound . That Christmas , for the first time in its history , the Byrdsnest held high festival . House and studio were decorated , and in the afternoon there was a Christmas-tree party for all the old friends and their children . The dining-room had been closed since the night before in order to facilitate Santa Clans ' midnight spiritings . When all the guests had arrived , and Stefan had been wheeled in from the studio , the mysterious door was at last thrown open , revealing the tree in all its glory , rooted in a floor of glittering snow , with its topmost star scraping the ceiling . With shouts the older children surrounded it ; Ellie followed more slowly , awed by such splendor ; and Rosamond crept after , drawn irresistibly by a hundred glittering lures . Crawling from guest to guest , her tiny hands clutching toys as big as herself , her dark eyes brilliant , her small red mouth emitting coos of rapture , she enchanted the men , and drew positive tears of delight from Constance .