midnight
muttered Miss Ingate . Nick 's studio seemed larger than reality because of its inadequate illumination . On a small paint-stained table in the centre was an oil-lamp beneath a round shade that had been decorated by some artist 's hand with a series of reclining women in many colours . This lamp made a moon in the midnight of the studio , but it was a moon almost without rays ; the shade seemed to imprison the light , save that which escaped from its superior orifice . Against the table stood a tall thin woman in black . Her face was lit by the rays escaping upward ; a pale , firm , bland face , with rather prominent cheeks , loose grey hair above , surmounted by a toque . The dress was dark , and the only noticeable feature of it was that the sleeves were finished in white linen ; from these the hands emerged calm and veined under the lampshade ; in one of them a pair of gloves were clasped .