midnight
Her whole life was concentrated in the single sense of hearing . Sometimes she shut her eyes , straining her ears to listen through space , wishing that she could annihilate everything that lay between her and her lover , and so establish that perfect silence which sounds may traverse from afar . In her tense self-concentration , the ticking of the clock grew hateful to her ; she stopped its ill-omened garrulity . The twelve strokes of midnight sounded from the drawing-room . `` Ah , God ! '' she cried , `` to see him here would be happiness . And yet , it is not so very long since he came here , brought by desire , and the tones of his voice filled this boudoir .