midnight
Astarte , the she-wolf , who must have kept guard beneath , stalked before them , and behind them they seemed to hear the hobbling crutch and cackling laughter of La Meffraye . Across the wide courtyard of Machecoul they went . It also was filled with the reflection of the red tide of light which ebbed and flowed , waxing and waning above . Saving for that window the whole castle was wrapped in gloom and silence , and if there were any awake within the precincts they knew better than to spy upon the midnight doings of their dread lord . The little party passed up the great staircase of the keep and presently halted before the inscribed wooden door by which Laurence had entered the Temple of Evil . As Gilles de Sillé opened it for the maids to precede him , the skirt of Maud Lindesay 's robe , blown back by the draught of the chamber , fluttered against the cheek of Laurence MacKim as he lay on his face in the niche of the wall . At the light touch he came to himself , and looked about with a strange and instant change in all the affections and movements of his heart .