midnight
Her gentle touch was almost as precious to him as her voice . De Lescure sat near his wife the whole day , speaking to her from time to time in a whisper , and feeling the weight upon his spirits so great that even with her he could hardly talk freely . He was already without a roof which he could call his own , and he was aware his friends would soon be equally desolate ; such hitherto had been the result of their gallant enterprise . Henri had much to say -- much that he had made up his mind to say to Marie before he left Durbellière , but he put off the moment of saying it from hour to hour , and it was not till near midnight that it was said . Marie herself , bore herself more manfully , if I may say so , than any of them ; she really employed herself , and thought of a thousand things conducive to their future comfort , which would have been forgotten or neglected had she not been there . The little Chevalier tried hard to assist her , but the pale sad face of Agatha , and the silent tears which from time to time moistened the cheeks of the Marquis , and told how acute were the sufferings which he tried in vain to hide , were too much for the poor boy ; he soon betook himself alone into the cherry grove , where he wandered about unseen , and if the truth must be told , more than once threw himself on the ground , and wept bitterly and aloud . They sat down to dinner about three o'clock ; but their dinner was , if possible , a worse affair than their breakfast .