midnight
`` Or a geometrical design , or even a map , '' she continued , catching his mood . The talk drifted to happier themes and Madame was quite herself again at dusk , when she rose to go . On the way back , she passed Allison , returning home to dinner by a well - worn path , but he was thinking of something else and did not see her at all . The lilac-scented midnight was starred here and there with white blooms when May went out and June came in . Drifts of `` bridal wreath '' were banked against the side of the house and a sweet syringa breathed out a faint perfume toward the hedge of lilacs beyond . Blown petals of pink and white died on the young grass beneath Madame 's wild crab-apple tree , transplanted from a distant woodland long ago to glorify her garden . The hour was one of enchantment , yet to Rose , leaning out into the moonless night , the beauty of it brought only pain .