She knew well about the darkest hour — she'd been there.
She appealed to him not to sacrifice for her the independence of his life, nor did she finally yield to the arrangement without the darkest forebodings, only too soon to be realized.
In the daytime "the gorged females rest motionless on the walls and ceilings of rooms, choosing always the darkest situations for this purpose" (Austen).
In his darkest hour, she had left the grieving to him and crawled into the safe world of denial.