ten o'clock
Your father is going away . I must watch over you to see that no one molests you . Thieves might want to break in ... one never knows ... anyhow , my brother can look after himself ... I stay to look after you . '' For a moment or two she stood quite still , her senses strained to grasp the meaning , the purport of the present situation -- this madman on the watch outside -- the young Count , key in hand , swaggering up to the back door at ten o'clock , when most folk would be at supper in the barn , her father gone , the village street wrapped in darkness ! Leopold , by a violent and sudden effort , had regained mastery over the muscles of his face and hands , these no longer twitched now , and he answered her look of mute inquiry with one of well-feigned quietude . Only his breath he could not control , it passed through his throat with a stertorous sound , and every now and then he had to pass his tongue over his dry , cracked lips . Thus they stood for a moment eye to eye ; and what she read in his glance caused a nameless fear to strike at her heart and to paralyse her will .