midnight
The conversation , like the cuisine , was flavored for fine palates ; both were light , suggestive , and of easy digestion . Events were discussed rather than the actors in them . All was ease and simplicity ; but it was a stately kind of simplicity , which served to chill those that were unaccustomed to it . So Kate Dalton felt it ; and however sad the confession , we must own that she greatly preferred the free and easy tone of Lady Hester 's midnight receptions to the colder solemnity of these distinguished guests . Even to the Cardinal 's whist-table , everything wore a look of state and solemnity . The players laid down their cards with a measured gravity , and scored their honors with the air of men discharging a high and important function . As for the Archduke , he sat upon a sofa beside Lady Hester , suffering himself to be amused by the resources of her small-talk , bowing blandly at times , occasionally condescending to a smile , but rarely uttering even a monosyllable .