midnight
It certainly did not look like the abode of a family of any pretensions . It formed , indeed , such a contrast to any house he would have lived in , even had painting and fencing to be done with his own hand , that he felt a sort of wrath rising in him at Miss Rexford 's father and brother , that they should suffer her to live in such a place . He had not come well in front before he observed that the women of the family were grouped at work on the green under a tree near the far end of the house . A moment more , and he saw the lady of the midnight walk coming towards him over the grass . He never doubted that it was she , although he had not seen her before by daylight . She had purposely avoided him on the Sunday ; he had felt it natural she should do so . Now when he saw her coming -- evidently coming on purpose to waylay and speak to him , the excitement he felt was quite unaccountable , even to himself ; not that he tried to account for it -- he only knew that she was coming , that his heart seemed to beat against his throat , that she had come and laid her hand upon the top of the paling , and looked over at him and said : `` Have they buried him ?