midnight
This would make matters simpler for me for , with numbers of people going in and coming out of the castle , it would be easy to slip in unnoticed . `` As soon as it was dark , Jacques and I went down a lane ; and he gave me his steel cap and breast piece , and took my cap in exchange . Then I went up towards the castle . The gates were open , and I was told that they would not be closed until midnight ; as so many were coming out and going in , and there was no hostile force anywhere in these parts . Presently , numbers of gentlemen began to arrive with their retainers , and I soon went in with a party of footmen . `` The courtyard was full of men , and I was not long before I found the staircase leading up to the top of the wall , on the river side . I went boldly up and , halfway , found a door partly open .