midnight
She touched the bell upon the table , and Ah Li entered silently . When Madame de Medici held out her hand to him Deacon raised the white fingers to his lips and kissed them rapturously ; then he turned , the Gascon within him uppermost again , and ran from the room . A purple curtain was drawn across the lobby , screening the caller newly arrived from the one so hurriedly departing . It was past midnight when Colonel Deacon returned to the house . Rene was waiting for him , pacing up and down the big library . Their relationship was curious , as subsisting between ward and guardian , for these two , despite the disparity of their ages , had few secrets from one another . Rene burned to pour out his story of the wonderful Madame de Medici , of the secret house in Chinatown with its deceptively mean exterior and its gorgeous interior , to the shrewd and worldly elder man .