midnight
After which , Kennard remained quite still . Esther , up in her little attic , knew nothing of what her English lover was even then suffering for her sake . She herself had passed , during the night , through every stage of horror and of fear . Soon after midnight that execrable brigand Rateau had poked his ugly , cadaverous face in at the door and peremptorily called for Lucienne . The woman , more dead than alive now with terror , had answered with mechanical obedience . `` I and my friends are thirsty , '' the man had commanded . `` Go and fetch us a litre of eau-de-vie . ''