midnight
Somerset entered the drive on foot , and when near the castle he observed in the gravel the wheel-marks of the carriages that had conveyed the guests thither the night before . There seemed to have been a large number , for the road where newly repaired was quite cut up . Before going indoors he was tempted to walk round to the wing in which Paula slept . Rooks were cawing , sparrows were chattering there ; but the blind of her window was as closely drawn as if it were midnight . Probably she was sound asleep , dreaming of the compliments which had been paid her by her guests , and of the future triumphant pleasures that would follow in their train . Reaching the outer stone stairs leading to the great hall he found them shadowed by an awning brilliantly striped with red and blue , within which rows of flowering plants in pots bordered the pathway . She could not have made more preparation had the gathering been a ball .