Midnight
He bent to kiss her , while Miriam , with her heart full of nameless yearning , watched them from the far shadows . The sound of his footsteps died away and a distant door closed . Soon afterward Miriam took her candle and went noiselessly upstairs , but she did not say good-night to Barbara . -LSB- Sidenote : Midnight -RSB- Until midnight , the girl sat at her sewing , taking the finest of stitches in tuck and hem . The lamp burning low made her needle fly swiftly . In her own room was an old chest nearly full of dainty garments which she was never to wear . She had wrought miracles of embroidery upon some of them , and others were unadorned save by tucks and lace .