midnight
She knew that this blow would break him body and soul . He could never survive the humiliation . His sensitiveness was a disease , his pride was the only thing that kept him going ; his love of her , strong as it was , would be drowned in an imagined shame ! It was midnight . She was alone with this secret . She held the paper in her hand , which was at once Louis ' sentence or his charter of liberty . A candle was at her hand , the doors were shut , the blinds drawn , the house a frozen silence -- how cold she was , though it was the deep of summer !