midnight
He would so soothe and listen to her , so ply her with the praises of her gift , which came floated to him on the talk of those acquaintances of hers to whom she had introduced him , that her most deep-rooted irritations would give way for a time . The woman would reappear ; she would yield to the charm of his admiring eyes , his stammered flatteries ; her whole mood would break up , dissolve into eager softness , and she would fall into a childish plaintiveness , saying wild generous things even of her rivals , now there seemed to be no one under heaven to take their part , and at last , even , letting her little hand fall into those eager brown ones which lay in wait for it , letting it linger there -- forgotten . Especially was she touched in his favour by the way in which Regnault had singled him out . After he had given her the history of that midnight walk , he saw clearly that he had risen to a higher plane in her esteem . She had no heroes exactly ; but she had certain artistic passions , certain romantic fancies , which seemed to touch deep fibres in her . Her admiration for Regnault was one of these ; but David soon understood that he had no cause whatever to be jealous of it . It was a matter purely of the mind and the imagination .