midnight
And time went on , midnight approached , and she was still there , near that death-bed of which she seemed to be ignorant , in that quivering chamber where she forgot herself , similar to a mere thing , apparently no longer even knowing why she had been brought thither . Mathieu and Boutan had been unwilling to retire . Since Monsieur was at Nice in the company of those ladies , the aunt and the niece , they decided to spend the night there in order that Constance might not be left alone with the old servant . And towards midnight , while they were chatting together in undertones , they were suddenly stupefied at hearing Seraphine raise her voice , after preserving silence for three hours . `` He is dead , you know , '' said she . Who was dead ? At last they understood that she referred to Dr. Gaude .