Chapter 5
IT WAS ALREADY quite late, and Johanna managed to slip into the palace unnoticed by anyone except the guards. She even managed to avoid Nellie and her inevitable I told you so speech about her ripped dress. Likely, Nellie had already gone to bed. There was always so much work to be done, and not enough people to do it. Poor Nellie.
Johanna tiptoed into the royal bedroom.
The bedroom, where no one except she and Roald and Nellie came, was one of the poorly-appointed rooms in the private wing of the palace. It contained a large bed, a dressing table with a cracked mirror and two chairs and little else.
At least it was warm.
The fire burned low in the hearth. The heavy curtains that covered the window and a door onto the balcony resembled a set of ugly rags. Nellie had washed t
