‘Er . . . yes. Thank you.’ Charles bowed to the room at large.
Olivia was still fixated on what he’d said first, though. ‘You hosted a fashion exhibit? I wish I’d been living in Franklin Grove back then to see it!’
‘Really?’ Charles raised his eyebrows. ‘Lots of those dresses are still on display.’
‘What?’ Olivia sat bolt-upright. ‘There are vintage fashions on display in Franklin Grove . . . And no one told me?’
Laughing, Ivy nudged her. ‘Did you even know there was a museum in this town?’
‘That’s not the point,’ Olivia said, with a mock scowl for her twin.
‘Better yet,’ Charles added, ‘I’ve also been asked to come up with interior designs for the museum’s South Wing.’
‘The South Wing?’ Mr Abbott frowned. ‘What’s in there now?’
‘Nothing,’ Charles said. ‘It has been closed for years, but they’re thinking of re-opening it if my exhibit is successful. So, I’m pulling out all the stops. I’ve arranged for the loan of several priceless historical artefacts to be shipped over specially from Transylvania.’
‘My goodness.’ Mrs Abbott shook her head in wonder. ‘How on earth did you manage that?’
‘Well, I had some help.’ Charles smiled. ‘My parents, the Count and Countess Lazar, pulled a few . . . delicate strings.’
Olivia grinned at her sister. Sometimes it was cool having Transylvanian royalty for family.
Brendan’s phone rang again. This time, Olivia noticed a definite flash of irritation cross his face, but instead of silencing the phone, he stood up.
‘Sorry,’ he muttered. He was holding the phone slightly away from his body, as if it were a bomb that might go off. ‘I’d better take this.’
The adults barely even seemed to notice.
‘You must tell us all about your plans!’ Mrs Abbott said to Charles. ‘What is your theme going to be?’
But Olivia stopped listening to the adults as Brendan disappeared from the room. Her frown deepened as she heard the front door open and close.
Wait a minute. Why would Brendan bother to go all the way out of the house to take a phone call . . .? Was he trying to make certain he would not be heard, even by the vampires with super-hearing?
Even Ivy?
She saw her twin frowning at the closed door, obviously disturbed.
Olivia didn’t have time to dwell on her questions, though, as Lillian’s smartphone beeped an alert. Stiffening, Lillian stepped back from the other adults and sat down on an armchair near the couch to type a response.
For once, the elegant film-maker looked . . . tired.
Hmm. Olivia looked hard at Lillian for the first time since she’d arrived. It wasn’t just her stepmom’s eyes that showed the strain. For the first time that Olivia could remember, Lillian’s glossy, dark hair looked . . . messy.
I didn’t know Lillian’s hair was even capable of being messy!
As Lillian hunched her shoulders over her phone, a pearl earring shone in one ear . . . but the other ear was blank. Did she actually forget to put her other earring in? Olivia frowned.
Then she realised the worst symptom of all: Lillian’s flowing sweater was a deep, dark purple . . . but her slimline trousers were green.
Olivia sucked in a gasp. Her colours are clashing . . . Something is definitely wrong here. And she knew she had to consult her twin about it.
Olivia leaned in to whisper into Ivy’s ear . . .
WHAP!
Her beehive hair slammed into Ivy’s face.