Chapter Forty-Five
AMSTERDAM, 1630
The sky was full of dark bloated clouds when the ship tied up. Clara quickly found a porter to carry her box through the maze of cargo sheds to a boat on the Amstel, which would pole her home. The water swirled coldly, grey and murky. No one knew to expect her today. She must brace herself to hide her distress. Her time with Henri was not something she intended to reveal.
Opening her front door and coming face-to-face with Nico, she found herself fighting tears when he pulled her straight into his arms. After the boatman manhandled her box into the voorhuis, he released her to hand him coin.
‘Let me help you. You look exhausted.’ When he took her cloak and knelt to remove her boots, her heart lurched, remembering Henri drying her feet, and a small inv
