midnight
She could not answer this question ; she only knew that the choice had fallen upon Owen . She must send him away , but what reasons should she give ? She felt that her conduct that afternoon had rendered a complete rupture in their relations more difficult than ever . It was as she lay sleepless in bed long after midnight that the solution of the difficulty suddenly sounded in her brain . She must write to him saying that he might come to see her once more , but that it must be for the last time . This was the way out of her difficulty , and she turned over in her bed , feeling she might now get to sleep . But instead of sleep there began the very words of this last interview , and her brain teemed with different plans for escape from her lover .