midnight
Well , take your tea strong , then ; and , waiter , get a cushion for the lady 's back . '' Lily smiled faintly at the injunction to take her tea strong . It was the temptation she was always struggling to resist . Her craving for the keen stimulant was forever conflicting with that other craving for sleep -- the midnight craving which only the little phial in her hand could still . But today , at any rate , the tea could hardly be too strong : she counted on it to pour warmth and resolution into her empty veins . As she leaned back before him , her lids drooping in utter lassitude , though the first warm draught already tinged her face with returning life , Rosedale was seized afresh by the poignant surprise of her beauty . The dark pencilling of fatigue under her eyes , the morbid blue-veined pallour of the temples , brought out the brightness of her hair and lips , as though all her ebbing vitality were centred there .