noon
But darkness came upon that day as suddenly as the night of the tropics . She rose one morning , light-hearted and happy , to pursue the careless round of pleasure . She lay down in a darkened chamber , never again to mix in that splendid crowd . Betwixt noon and twilight Henri de Malfort had fallen in a combat of eight , a combat so savage as to recall that fatal fight of five against five during the Fronde , in which Nemours had fallen , shot through the heart by Beaufort . The light words of a fool in a tavern , backed by three other fools , had led to this encounter , in which De Malfort had been the challenger . He and one of his friends died on the ground , while three on the other side were mortally wounded . It would henceforth be fully understood that Lady Fareham 's name was not for ribald jesters ; but the man Lady Fareham loved was dead , and her life of pleasure had ended with a pistol-ball from an unerring hand .