‘It’s so good to see you,’ the Countess said as she kissed Olivia’s cheek.
‘You too,’ Olivia said. ‘But what are you doing here?’
‘And why are you wearing bunny clothes ?’ Ivy asked. From the look on her face, Olivia knew her twin had only barely managed to restrain herself from adding: And such ridiculous ones ?
The Countess’s bright-pink-and-orange flowered shirt was even more garish at close quarters. Olivia’s eyes hurt just from looking at it. Where are my diamante sunglasses ? !
‘You must be here for the engagement party,’ Charles exclaimed, as Horatio shut the door behind them. ‘I’m afraid you are a bit early, but –’
Lillian shushed him. ‘Why don’t we wait for your parents to explain?’
‘Of course we will explain,’ the Countess said grandly. ‘But first, I must change. These cheap polyesters make my skin itch!’
Then why are you wearing them ? Olivia wondered. But she bit her tongue as her grandmother started to collect her luggage and head towards the stairs.
‘No, no, no!’ an outraged voice interrupted. Horatio swished past Olivia and in one smooth movement had collected the luggage from the Countess and tucked her cases under each arm. He lowered his gaze to the floor. ‘So sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, but this is my job.’ He started to walk up the stairs, turning awkwardly to avoid bumping the leather-bound luggage against the banisters. The Countess watched him, shaking her head indulgently.
‘You know,’ she whispered to Olivia. ‘I haven’t been allowed to carry a thing upstairs in over forty years.’ Then she laughed quietly. ‘But I do like to tease him and pretend I’m going to sometimes!’
Olivia was shocked. Had the Countess just . . . cracked a joke? Before she could dare to ask, her grandmother followed Horatio upstairs.
When she finally came back down, wearing her usual satin and cashmere, the entire family gathered in the living room, with the trays of wedding treats set in the centre of the room. Horatio circulated with a jug of iced tea. How did he make that already? Wasn’t he helping the Countess unpack ? Olivia wondered. The Countess sat in the place of honour in Charles’s favourite chair. The Count was settled on the sofa, delicately nibbling a king prawn.
Charles and Lillian sat together. ‘If you aren’t here for the engagement party,’ Charles said to his parents, ‘what else could possibly have brought you?’
‘We were sent by the Queen,’ the Countess said, ‘to investigate your daughters’ message.’
‘What message?’ Charles turned to Olivia and Ivy, his brow creased. Olivia tried not to wince. Uh-oh, here we go.
‘We did try to tell you,’ Ivy said, ‘but –’
The Countess cut across her. ‘We all saw the twins’ message on the Vorld Vide Veb about the vampire hunter. But what is all this about a “blagger” threatening to expose Franklin Grove’s vampire community?’
Now Charles looked really shocked. ‘A what ?’
Horatio cleared his throat. ‘Ahem. That would be “blogger”, milady.’
Olivia bit the inside of her cheek to hold back a laugh at the disgruntled expression on her grandmother’s face. The Countess clearly wasn’t up to speed on the latest technology . . . which wasn’t surprising, considering she was hundreds of years old.
‘Blagger, blogger . . .’ The Countess waved a hand through the air dismissively. ‘Regardless, the Queen was alerted by her intertrap –’
‘Internet,’ Horatio interjected, in a whisper.
‘Her Internet security team that this bla– this blogger’s message is getting out of control. Something needs to be done! Obviously, some vampire seniority is needed at the heart of the danger, and as we have family here, it made sense for your father and I to be the ones sent on this fact-finding mission.’
‘A fact-finding mission . . .’ Charles repeated blankly, ‘ . . . in Franklin Grove.’
The Count held out a tray to the Countess. ‘Do try the sugared almonds, darling.’
‘Oh, do you like them?’ Obviously thrilled to be back in wedding territory, Charles beamed at his father. ‘I thought perhaps after the ceremony –’
‘Sugared almonds are not a priority!’ The Countess raised her eyebrows warningly. ‘We are here on an undercover mission of the greatest importance.’
Ivy choked. ‘So . . . that’s why you were dressed that way?’
‘It was the only safe way to travel.’ The Countess patted the Count’s purple-and-yellow flowered shirt-sleeve with satisfaction. ‘Our mission is to get the entire vampire community of Franklin Grove undercover until this threat has been neutralised. And, of course –’ her expression hardened – ‘no matter what it takes, we must discover the identity of the blogger who is responsible for stirring up so much trouble in the first place.’
Olivia gulped. ‘Um . . . what exactly are you planning to do when you find it out?’