midnight
When was she going to learn really to live for the day ? What a fool she was ! Still frowning , and without saying another word , she went upstairs quickly to dress . It was past midnight when she returned to the villa . There was no moon ; wind was blowing fiercely , lashing the Nile into waves that were edged with foam , and whirling grains of sand stripped away from the desert over the prairies and gardens of Luxor . The stars were blotted out , and the night was cold and intensely dark . She held on tightly to Ibrahim 's arm as she struggled up the bank from the river , and almost felt her way to the house , from which only two lights gleamed faintly .