Chapter 5
At first glance, the hall looked far too crowded for us to get into. Everyone's heads were tilted back, looking towards the top of the stairs. I guessed that was where the chiming sound was coming from. But I couldn't see what everyone was looking at, and all of the men in their top hats weren't helping.
But I quickly found that crowds tended to part to let Otto through. He didn't say anything, and no one seemed to be looking his way, but there was always a gap in front of him that he could slip through. We made it through the mass of people milling about in the ballroom doorway to a spot against the wall, but at least from here; I could see all of the way up the staircase.
A man I took to be Ivy's father was standing on the third-floor balcony, beaming down at the crowd below
