midnight
She could not make him quarrel , but he would sit doggedly gloating over her beauty , his gray eyes flashing and gleaming with the fever for possession that is the soul of murder . He was not long left in doubt as to the turn her thoughts had taken from the crisis through which she had passed . Her drawing-room was crowded . These receptions were protracted until long past midnight , and he had never seen her so gay or reckless in manner . She dressed with a splendour never affected before , and received the attentions of Overman with a favour so marked it could not escape the eye of the most casual observer . She made not the slightest effort to conceal it , and her manner was so plain a challenge to Gordon he was stunned by its audacity . Overman felt this challenge in her mood , and , alarmed , withdrew from the scene .