midnight
`` And why , '' he asked , half sulkily and half ponderously , `` after midnight only , M. le Comte ? '' `` Merely that I may be clear of all suspicion of having lot or part in the matter , '' Count Hannibal answered pleasantly . `` After midnight of to-night by all means do as you please . Until midnight , by your leave , we will be quiet . '' The Lieutenant-Governor moved doubtfully in his chair , the fear -- which Tavannes had shrewdly instilled into his mind -- that he might be disowned if he carried out his instructions , struggling with his avarice and his self-importance . He was rather crafty than bold ; and such things had been , he knew . Little by little , and while he sat gloomily debating , the notion of dealing with one or two and holding the body of the Huguenots to ransom -- a notion which , in spite of everything , was to bear good fruit for Angers -- began to form in his mind .