two o’clock precisely
I made out a window two yards my side of it and nearly on the same level . That , if Johann spoke true , must belong to the duke 's apartments ; and on the other side , in about the same relative position , must be Madame de Mauban 's window . Women are careless , forgetful creatures . I prayed that she might not forget that she was to be the victim of a brutal attempt at two o'clock precisely . I was rather amused at the part I had assigned to my young friend Rupert Hentzau ; but I owed him a stroke -- for , even as I sat , my shoulder ached where he had , with an audacity that seemed half to hide his treachery , struck at me , in the sight of all my friends , on the terrace at Tarlenheim . Suddenly the duke 's window grew bright . The shutters were not closed , and the interior became partially visible to me as I cautiously raised myself till I stood on tiptoe .