Chapter 5
JOHANNA RETURNED in the coach to that exact same spot on the quay the next morning for a completely different reason. The harbourmaster had sent word to the palace of King William’s arrival, and this important guest needed special attention. So she had dressed in a formal but not too flamboyant dress, asked Nellie to do her hair, and clambered into the coach. Father sat on the bench opposite her, wearing the formal Carmine family coat that Mistress Dina had made for him. The weather was rather too warm for it, and beads of sweat pearled on his forehead.
Johanna wasn’t feeling the best after her foray the previous night. Her legs were tired, her feet so swollen that they almost wouldn’t fit into her shoes, and the chill of magic that had stabbed through her belly had never compl
