At least the moon was bright, the sky cloudless, and even with his limited vision he thought he could achieve his objective without breaking his neck. He spent a while examining the possibilities and decided to attempt to ascend to the unoccupied part of the house – the wing that his brother had intended to convert into accommodation for him and Sofia.
The shutters were not closed on the upper floors and he thought he would be able to prise up the window using the stiletto he always had secreted in his boot. He discarded his greatcoat, gloves, muffler and jacket as it would be much easier to climb in his shirtsleeves.
There were enough protuberances for him to grasp with his fingers, but he found it difficult to lodge his toes on anything secure enough to prevent himself from falling. Slowly he moved upwards clinging like a limpet to whatever he could find. With a sigh of relief, he reached the windowsill and heaved himself up.
He dislodged several pieces of masonry in his struggle to hold his balance and they clattered noisily to the terrace below. There was nobody sleeping in this part of the building, not even servants had their quarters in the attics, so he ignored it and slipped the blade of his knife between the window and the frame.
After several attempts the catch moved back, he got his fingers under the bottom of the window and carefully pushed it up. He swung his leg into the room and his breath hissed through his teeth. He had not realised he had been holding it.
Despite the bright moonlight outside the interior of the room was so dark he doubted he could make his way across it without falling over something. He tried to visualise the layout, but nothing would be the same as the furniture would have been either removed or put in the centre and covered with cloths.
The room was colder than outside, had a damp, unused smell, and he shivered. He had a nasty feeling that having been drenched in icy water earlier, and now exposed to the elements, he was in danger of becoming unwell. The sooner he got out of this place and back into his own apartment where the fire would be lit and he could get warm again, the better.
