midnight
Can I go ? '' `` Certainly , I am not afraid ; and when I get sleepy I will come up and go to bed . When will Mrs. Palma and Miss Neville come home ? '' `` Not before midnight , if then . '' She explained to Regina how to elevate and extinguish the gas , and the two went down to the sitting-room , whence Hattie soon disappeared . Raising the silk curtain that divided this apartment from the parlours , Regina walked slowly up and down upon the velvet carpet in which her feet seemed to sink , as on a bed of moss ; and her eyes wandered admiringly over the gilded stands , gleaming bronzes , marble statuettes , papier maché , ormolu , silk , lace , brocatel , moquette , satin and silver which attracted her gaze . Beautiful pictures adorned the tinted walls , and the ceiling was brilliantly frescoed , while one of the wide bay-windows contained a stand filled with a superb array of wax flowers .