midnight
She waited to turn the key in the door , and withdrew it from the lock . Then she followed her husband down the corridor , and a minute or two later rejoined him in the fragrant and balmy midnight air of Monaco . It was not until Frances Durkin and her husband were installed in an empty first-class compartment , twining and curling and speeding on their way to Genoa , that even a comparative sense of safety came to them . It was Durkin 's suggestion that it might not be amiss for them to give the impression of being a newly-married couple , on their honeymoon journey ; and , to this end , he had half-filled the compartment with daffodils and jonquils , with carnations and violets and roses , purchased with one turn of the hand from a midnight flower-vender , on his way down from the hills for any early morning traffic that might offer . So as they sped toward the Italian frontier , in the white and mellow Mediterranean moonlight , threading their way between the tranquil violet sea bejeweled with guardian lights and the steep and silent slopes of the huddled mountains , they lounged back on their hired train-pillows , self-immured , and unperturbed , and quietly contented with themselves and their surroundings . At least , so it seemed to the eyes of each scrutinizing guard and official , who , after one sharp glance at the flower-filled compartment and the crooning young English lovers , passed on with a laugh and a shrug or two . Yet , at heart , Durkin and Frank were anything but happy .