midnight
And the hussy is but nineteen ! -- Merciful Father , what will she be at forty or fifty , when most women only begin to be wicked ! '' And thus she went on for some while . Ere long we forgot Ursula and all the hateful to-do , and passed the precious hours in much content , till after midnight , when the Pernharts sent to fetch Ann home . Herdegen and I would walk with her . After a grievous yet hopeful leave-taking I came home again , leaning on his arm , through the cool autumn night . When I now admonished Herdegen as we walked , as to the fair Marchesa and her letter , he declared to me that in those evil weeks he had spent in bitter yearning as a serving man in the bee-keeper 's hut , he had learned to know his own mind .