It was still dark when I awoke and the house had the quiet of the early hours. I was desperate to relieve myself and climbed out of bed to hover over the chamber pot. Through the half-open window, I heard Big Ben chime for two o’clock. I had been asleep for little over an hour. My business done, I pushed the pot back under the bed but I wasn’t ready to lie down again. The Leopard Lady’s face had haunted my dreams. I had to see her. I leant over the bed to watch Vincent for a moment, but he was dead to the world. I would be glad of his help tomorrow but I knew my rest would be fitful until I had visited the Leopard Lady for myself. Was she able to get to the pot? Had Grace left her some water? I needed to find out.

I slipped Vincent’s dressing gown on over my nightclothes. Late as it was, I couldn’t be certain that all Crillick’s friends had left. There were none that I’d want to encounter without the protection of corset, stays and Vincent at my side, especially now they knew me as a servant, and would think themselves free to take any liberties they might want. Off the kitchen there was an unused servants’ room where I imagined Crillick would have had Grace house the Leopard Lady for the night. It would only take a minute to check on her. I put a jar of cream in my pocket and a pomade I’d made from bear’s grease and almond oil. She could use it on her hair.

I eased the bedroom door open and poked my head out, but the corridor was quiet. The gas lamps had been dimmed, which meant the guests were gone or retired to their bedrooms. I closed the door softly behind me and crept down the stairs, reassured that if any of Crillick’s friends had stayed over, they were fast asleep now.

The kitchen was at the back of the house. Mostly I entered the house that way and waved to Grace when Vincent wasn’t with me. When I pushed open the door, I saw that a candle had been left burning and the fire was banked. The embers gave off an orangey light that was just enough to see by. It should have been comforting, but the draught from the open door made the flames gutter, and jagged shadows danced against the walls. I stepped into the room and sucked in a breath at the cold of the flagstones beneath my feet, the shock of it made worse after the opulence of the thick carpet that lined the hallway.