He climbed on the sill of the lower window; by the side of that window a stone pillar ran up the side of the house to the windows on the first floor.

Wogan had taken note of that pillar months back when he was hawking chattels in Innspruck.

He set his hands about it and got a grip with his foot against the sash of the lower window.

He was just raising himself when he heard a noise above him.

He dropped back to the ground and stood in the fixed attitude of a sentinel.
A head appeared at the window, a woman's head.