midnight
`` It ought to have been done more coolly , but there , he is a new man , '' said the authorities . All eyes turned with equal eagerness to Yulia Mihailovna . Of course no one has the right to expect from me an exact account in regard to one point : that is a mysterious , a feminine question . But I only know one thing : on the evening of the previous day she had gone into Andrey Antonovitch 's study and was there with him till long after midnight . Andrey Antonovitch was comforted and forgiven . The husband and wife came to a complete understanding , everything was forgotten , and when at the end of the interview Lembke went down on his knees , recalling with horror the final incident of the previous night , the exquisite hand , and after it the lips of his wife , checked the fervent flow of penitent phrases of the chivalrously delicate gentleman who was limp with emotion . Every one could see the happiness in her face .