midnight
Might not she and Alice together so work upon him , that he should cease to stand ever on the brink of some half-seen precipice ? To risk herself for her brother was noble . But when she used her cunning in inducing her cousin to share that risk she was ignoble . Of this she had herself some consciousness , as she walked up and down the old dining-room at midnight , holding her cousin 's letter in her hand . Her cheeks became tinged with shame as she thought of the scene which Alice had described , -- the toy thrown beneath the grate , the loud curses , the whispered threats , which had been more terrible than curses , the demand for money , made with something worse than a cut-throat 's violence , the strong man 's hand placed upon the woman 's arm in anger and in rage , those eyes glaring , and the gaping horror of that still raw cicatrice , as he pressed his face close to that of his victim ! Not for a moment did she think of defending him . She accused him to herself vehemently of a sin over and above those sins which had filled Alice with dismay .