midnight
In the half-sleep that numbed her limbs , Yvonne counted the strokes . She also heard certain noises , on different floors of the house , which told her that her husband had dined , that he was going up to his room , that he was going down again to his study . But all this seemed very shadowy to her ; and her torpor was such that she did not even think of lying down on the sofa , in case he should come in ... . The twelve strokes of midnight ... . Then half-past twelve ... then one ... . Yvonne thought of nothing , awaiting the events which were preparing and against which rebellion was useless . She pictured her son and herself as one pictures those beings who have suffered much and who suffer no more and who take each other in their loving arms .