‘The honour is mine,’ he said and reached out to kiss her hand.
Georgia leaned in to Ivy. ‘Looks like your sister has herself a royal admirer!’
The realisation hit Ivy like a stake in the gut. Alex likes Olivia! A second thought followed almost as quickly. But Olivia has a boyfriend.
Alex started pointing out features of the gardens at the back of the house, framed by enormous windows. He kept looking at Olivia intensely.
‘Oh yes,’ she said, ‘how pretty.’ Her breath misted on the glass as she gazed out at the garden. She had no idea how closely Alex was staring at her.
Georgia clapped her hands and three assistants with racks of clothing hurried out from a side room. ‘This feature is going to be even bigger than your first! I simply must have you on the cover of VAMP again.’
‘Oooh, costumes!’ Ivy breathed, wanting to grab a rack and run away with it. Georgia had fabulous taste.
‘Of course, this rack is all in your size.’ Georgia winked.
‘Ivy.’ Mr Vega motioned her over. ‘Are you OK with all of this?’
‘Are you kidding?’ Ivy replied. ‘A chance to play dress up with the VAMP magazine closets? As long as someone nudges me when I’m putting my foot in it – which I know is pretty often – this might be the best part of my trip!’
Mr Vega nodded. ‘If at any time you feel uncomfortable and wish to stop, or leave, just say the word. We are not obligated to stay.’
Ivy felt her heart sink. She understood that their dad wanted to protect his daughters, but couldn’t he just go with it for once? ‘I want to stay,’ Ivy said. ‘I want you to want to stay, too.’
Mr Vega looked away. ‘I am here for you and your sister.’
Ivy sighed. That wasn’t the answer she was hoping for.
Georgia called, ‘We’ll save the dresses for later, girls. First, I thought we would start with a group photo on the stairs? We’ll just wait for Her Majesty –’ The older woman suddenly stopped mid-sentence and dropped into an elegant curtsy.
Ivy turned to see the Queen walking down the hallway with two attendants. She was wearing a long-sleeved navy-blue fitted dress with lace detail at the open neck. She looked just as intimidating as she had in her formal gown.
‘Welcome,’ she said and nodded to the twins. ‘Please enjoy your time in my home.’ She turned to the magazine editor. ‘Shall we?’
Georgia immediately began gently coaxing the Count and Countess up the steps.
‘Wouldn’t Prince Alex and Olivia look good standing next to each other?’ the Countess suggested.
Alex moved instantly to Olivia’s side. ‘A fabulous idea,’ he said.
The Queen raised an eyebrow and Ivy could tell she did not like how much attention her son was paying to the only human in the room.
‘No, no,’ Mr Vega was saying. ‘I don’t need to be in the photo.’
‘Please, Charles,’ Georgia said. ‘This is a celebration of togetherness.’
Ivy realised what she was saying: as much as anything could, being in a photo with the Queen was a chance to show the vampire community that times were changing.
‘Come on, Dad,’ she said. ‘You can stand next to me.’ She grabbed his arm and pulled him up on to the third step.
As the photographer moved around the group, holding up a light-capture device in front of everyone’s faces, Georgia asked, ‘Ivy, Olivia, tell me, how are you finding Transylvania? Do you feel like you’ve come “home”?’
Ivy bit her lip. She wasn’t about to let slip how out of place she felt.
Luckily, Olivia came to her rescue. ‘We love Transylvania so far; and everyone here is very nice. Of course, we want to thank Her Majesty and the prince for their gracious hospitality.’
Ivy spotted that Olivia had side-stepped the home question neatly and wondered if anyone else noticed.
Georgia nodded and then turned to the Queen. ‘Your Majesty, may I ask what it feels like to open your house to a human for the first time ever?’