midnight
Phillida flitted over the place indoors and out , managing the house , following Vere about , driving to village or town with me on purchasing trips for our supplies . I did rather more of my own work than usual , that summer , and consequently had more of the commercial side to employ me . A healthy , normal life ? Yes -- until the hours between midnight and dawn . I never knew when I laid down at night whether I should sleep until sun and morning overlay the countryside ; whether the whispering call of Desire Michell would summon me to an hour more exquisite than reality , less satisfying than a dream , or whether I should leap into consciousness of the Loathsome Eyes fixed coldly malignant upon me while my enemy 's inhuman hate groped toward me across the darkness Its presence fouled . For my two guests kept their promises . If I speak briefly of the coming of the Thing during this time , I do so because the mind shrinks from past pain .