It was still dark when someone knocked on the door.
“Mistress?” It was Nellie.
Johanna stuck her feet out of the warmth of the bed. Oh, it was so cold! She tiptoed to the door and opened it a crack. Nellie stood in the hallway with a candle.
“There is a young man in the kitchen for you.”
Johanna quickly got dressed and felt her way down the stairs. The lights were on in the kitchen, and Koby was kneading dough. By the heavens, was this the time she normally got up?
At the table opposite Koby sat a young men whom Johanna recognised as one from the church.
“Has anything happened?”
“I’m afraid it has. You best come quickly.”
Johanna followed him into the darkness, which wasn’t quite as dark as she expected. The sky had a distinct blue tinge on the eastern horizon.
They walked in sile
