Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 117920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
I didn’t think much of Henrik the first time I met him. I expected he wouldn’t speak English and that the ride from the airport would be filled with silence. But the guy talks almost as much as I do. He mainly talked about his family (he’s thirty-two, has a wife and kid, wants to go back to university) but I have a feeling he’s a gossip. He already gave me the low-down about the King’s driver and I know in time I’ll be able to get all the dirty details about the King himself. I can be very persuasive.
“Good,” Maja says, and if I’m not mistaken she seems a little jumpy and nervous. She quickly pivots toward Henrik and calls after him in Danish. Then she gives me a quick smile. “I must remember to speak English more around you, otherwise it might be seen as rude. I was just telling him to put your items away in your room.”
“No worries,” I tell her. “I’m the one who needs to be picking up Danish, and fast. It’s only luck that so far everyone has been fluent in English.”
“Aside from the older generation, you’ll find most people here in Copenhagen speak English, and certainly in the palace. They might be a little, how do you say, self-conscious about it, but they will understand you very well.” She presses her palms together and nods toward the hall. “I know I gave you a quick tour last time but I doubt you were able to take any of it in. Perhaps I should show you around and make introductions to the staff, and then we can get started on the paperwork.”
It feels like the first day of school already and instead of telling myself to be cold and indifferent like I was with King Aksel, I tell myself to be warm and respectful to everyone I meet.
It’s not so hard when I’m introduced, yet again, to Henrik, or to Karla, a cook, or Agnes, the head housekeeper. They’re effortlessly polite and welcoming, reminding me a bit of the animated staff in Beauty and the Beast. But you know, actual people.
Then I’m brought upstairs to the second level to meet Johan, King Aksel’s driver, the one Henrik told me about. According to Henrik, Johan is a sleepwalker that I’ll probably see roaming about the palace in the middle of the night. He also looks—and speaks—an awful lot like Lurch from the Addams Family. I make a mental note not to scream my head off if I run into him walking around like Frankenstein at one a.m., though I won’t make any promises.
Finally, Maja takes me to the administrative offices down at the end, near the King’s office. She knocks on his door and I try and prepare myself to see him again, only there’s no answer. Can’t say I’m not relieved.
Then the door across the hall opens and a tall, skinny man with a deep-set brow and pale blonde hair strolls out, dressed in a sharp suit. He looks vaguely familiar so I figure I must have seen his picture somewhere during my spying spree.
“Nicklas,” Maja says to him and says a few words in Danish before she switches to English. “Do you know where he is?” She gestures to me with a firm nod. “She has papers to sign.”
The man, Nicklas, glances at me, and if I thought Aksel’s eyes were cold, whoo boy, one glance at this guy is like staring right at a White Walker. “Han er gået i seng,” he says firmly before he turns on his heel and stalks off.
I glance at Maja, my lips pursed in surprise. “Did he just tell you off?”
She manages a smile and sighs. “No. Well, perhaps. That’s Nicklas. I would have introduced you but he’s…”
“Disagreeable?” I tease.
She nods. “Yes. He’s … well, I’m sure you’ll hear about him in due time. He’s the King’s secretary, however, so you’ll be around him quite a bit. Try to stay on his good side.”
Now I’m totally intrigued. I’ll be juggling two assholes with this job?
“I know what you’re thinking,” she adds. “The thing is, he’s been through a lot and maybe because of that the King keeps him close to his side. You see,” she says, lowering her voice and leaning in, “Nicklas used to be Helena’s butler.”
I gasp softly. But of course! That’s why he looked familiar to me. “Oh my god, he was the one who was driving when she died? He drove them off the cliff.”
Maja nods furtively and motions for me to keep my voice down. I do have a habit of getting a little too animated. “It was ruled an accident.”
“I know, but still. How can he still employ him? I don’t even think I could handle being in the same city as someone like that, let alone the same palace, knowing that it was this guy’s fault my wife died. Bloody hell.”