‘Please, Karl, don’t be so dramatic. It’s ancient history.’ Olivia had no idea what ‘It’ was. Vincenzo scanned the table. ‘Is Susannah not here? She could always calm you down when your temper started flaring. You can be so –’ he waved a hand through the air – ‘impetuous!’
Charles moved so fast that, to Olivia’s eye, he practically teleported. He lunged for Vincenzo, teeth flashing, but Count Lazar and Horatio quickly placed themselves between him and the caped vampire.
‘This is not the way,’ said the Count. His old eyes looked sad, contrasting sharply with his festive red smoking jacket.
From her place at the head of the table, the Queen called, ‘Karl – Charles – listen to your father. There is a time and place for duelling, but this is not it.’
Charles did not return to his seat. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. A vein pulsed at his neck. ‘You are not going to ruin another wedding,’ he said through gritted teeth. Olivia shrank back into her seat. Her normally super-cool bio-dad looked like he was about to lose it.
Vincenzo puffed his chest out. ‘But I never –’
‘No,’ bellowed Charles. ‘Not this time. Do you understand me?’
Vincenzo’s shoulders slumped, and his cape skirted the floor. ‘But it’s my niece getting married tomorrow,’ he said. ‘I promised her father that I’d always be there for her. I took this promise seriously, even after he and I fell out.’
Ivy and Olivia took a sharp breath at the same time. His niece? Everyone’s eyes were drawn to Tessa and guests began whispering to one another. Poor Tessa stared at the table, pink-faced.
Nobody said a word as Vincenzo stepped closer to the table. He bowed low, flourishing his black cape around him. ‘My dear Tessa,’ he said. ‘I just want to help you celebrate your big day.’ He lifted his chin, waiting for Tessa’s response.
The Queen glanced from Vincenzo to Tessa and then back to Vincenzo. Olivia thought the Queen looked as if she had just noticed a strand of hair floating in her soup.
Tessa’s eyes sparkled with tears. ‘There isn’t going to be a big day,’ she said, her voice quaking. ‘At least not as long as you’re around. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go.’ She pushed back from the table and everyone stood up as a mark of respect. Alex tried to reach for her, but she brushed him aside.
‘I’m sorry, Alex,’ she said. ‘I just need to be alone.’
Olivia heard a loud rip and saw that Tessa’s luxurious golden gown had got caught under the chair, tearing a large hole in the train. Tessa held the torn fabric limply in her hand and a single sob broke from her lips before she rushed for the door.
‘Tessa, wait!’ Prince Alex called after her. He seemed at a loss to know what to do – chase his bride or deal with the unwanted intruder.
Does this mean the wedding is off? Olivia wondered. How awful!
But then she discovered she had more pressing concerns – like why the floor of the Banquet Hall was rising up to meet her and why she was seeing doubles of Ivy! She toppled over just as blackness covered her vision.
One moment Olivia was standing next to her, and the next Ivy saw her begin to crumple to the floor. In an instant, Ivy shot her hands out and caught her sister’s limp body just before she fell flat on her face.
‘Olivia!’ she cried. Ivy’s heart thudded in her chest and it felt like she couldn’t get a breath of air into her lungs. ‘Olivia, Olivia! What’s going on?’ Ivy cradled her sister’s sagging body. Olivia’s eyes were wide and blank and her mouth hung open like a guppy fish. ‘Can somebody please help me?’ she asked, frantic.
Much to her surprise, instead of coming to her aid, Ivy saw Horatio sprint out of the room. Could he really be that squeamish when her sister needed help?
Her dad and Lillian rushed to her side. Lillian pressed the back of her hand to Olivia’s forehead. ‘She’s burning up,’ she said. ‘Do you think she’s come down with something? We should get her up to your bedchamber.’ She hooked one of Olivia’s arms over her shoulders and let Ivy support her on the other side.
Vincenzo’s face hovered over Ivy. ‘I can be of service,’ he said.
But Charles shot him a death-stare that Ivy would have had to practise for years to master. ‘I can take care of my daughter, thank you very much.’ His voice was icy. ‘Maybe you should worry about your niece . . . or, better yet, you can help by disappearing altogether. You ruined one wedding years ago – please don’t spoil a second one now.’
Vincenzo’s mouth worked to form words. ‘But . . . It wasn’t . . . It wasn’t my fault. You cannot besmirch my name like this. I have my honour to think of!’ He flung his cloak over one shoulder and began to march from the room, as though he had decided something. Then he stopped dead at the sight of Prince Alex, whose piercing eyes seemed to dare him to say another word.
Alex grabbed Vincenzo’s elbow and pulled him further away from the crowd surrounding Olivia. ‘I don’t know who you are, but you are clearly not welcome in this home.’
‘Don’t worry, my liege.’ The last word dripped with sarcasm. ‘I am already going.’
‘I’ve had enough of this,’ Charles muttered, overhearing the confrontation. With one glance back, the twins’ father scooped up Olivia and carried her out of the room, Ivy and Lillian close behind.
Ivy tried to keep her breathing under control. Please let Olivia be OK . . .
Ivy sat cross-legged on the floor beside Olivia, who was spread out like a corpse on the floor. Lillian had taken Charles back downstairs, to find a cool drink for Olivia. Ivy held her sister’s cold, sweaty hand and kept repeating: She’s going to be fine, she’s going to be fine, she’s going to be fine, like one of Mr Abbott’s Zen mantras. Ivy realised that she and her twin had been using the word ‘fine’ a lot in the past few days – usually at times when they were very definitely not fine.
She tried to shake the thought from her head. Olivia was probably just run down from the flight – or suffering from some kind of allergy. No biggie. Ivy nearly choked as she mentally borrowed one of her sister’s phrases.