When I awoke it was still dark. The air on my face was cool and there was no sign of dawn trying to steal through my curtains. I guessed that it must be two or three o'clock in the morning. As I made these calculations, I lay, staring at the ceiling, ears straining as I tried to discover what had woken me. As I heard the noise, I realised that I was hearing it for the second time and that it was what had roused me. It was talking, shouting really, and it was drifting in through my open window. A further moment's thought and I realised that it was coming from my master's cabinet.

I climbed from my bed and drew my shoes on over my bare feet. I slid my night robe around my shoulders and made my eyes into slits to protect them as I lit a candle. Then, as prepared as I could be with my heart sounding loudly in my chest, I made my way out into the corridor and down towards the rear courtyard. I unlocked and opened the door, and once again could hear the shouting, without a doubt emerging from my master's working rooms.