‘Seriously? She ran out?’ Olivia remembered how Tessa had run out on her own party last night too, like she hadn’t wanted to be there. Olivia had thought it was wedding nerves, but now she knew that there was definitely something going on. The question is: what can it be?
Prince Alex reached for Tessa’s hand, but she pulled it away to fiddle with her hair and then placed it firmly in her lap. Oh no! Had they argued? That would make the most sense, but they were usually such a happy pair. Was the wedding going to be called off? Olivia stopped herself, realising that she was letting her imagination run wild. But after everything that had happened with Jackson – not to mention her recent tumble – she didn’t feel able to judge anything any more.
Prince Alex stood up, clinking his crystal goblet with a knife. His teeth were sparkling white as he smiled out at the dinner guests as if nothing was wrong. He wore a cream-coloured suit and a slender crimson tie. If he had lived in the States, he might have had an impressive career as a male model.
‘Welcome, everyone.’ He held his glass high and the room fell silent. ‘I’m going to use my bad jokes tonight, since this is a rehearsal dinner and I would much prefer to save my best material for the wedding toast tomorrow. I hope you can forgive me.’ The group chuckled. ‘As many of you know, my relationship with Tessa hasn’t always been bats and blackness.’
‘What does that mean?’ Olivia whispered in Ivy’s ear, confused.
Ivy hissed back: ‘It means their relationship hasn’t always been easy-peasy.’
‘We kept our love secret for a long time,’ Prince Alex continued, ‘and it is only recently that we came out of the coffin.’ Alex paused for a smattering of applause and laughter. ‘But all jokes aside –’ he turned to his bride-to-be – ‘Tessa is like the Free Rose of Summer – rare and beautiful. And now that I’ve found her, I know my future.’
Olivia knew that if she were Tessa she’d be swooning at Alex’s touching words. Drawn-out awwws sounded around the dining table. In fact, the only person not showing any real emotion was Tessa. Instead, the soon-to-be-princess was staring hard at her lap. Ivy and Olivia shared a look, but either Prince Alex didn’t notice his fiancée’s expression or he was very good at hiding his feelings.
‘To Tessa!’ He raised the glass to his lips and took a sip.
‘To Tessa!’ The guests echoed.
A moment later, the door to the Banquet Hall banged open and every head in the room swivelled to look. There was a short scuffle with a white-coated servant, and then a caped vampire with a slicked-back mullet burst into the room. Olivia recognised the intruder immediately. It was the same creepy vamp Ivy had pointed out on Olivia’s camera just before they had come down! What was he doing here at Alex and Tessa’s dinner?
The Queen’s bodyguard appeared behind the caped vampire, shaking his head. ‘He was lurking outside, Count Lazar,’ he announced. ‘I tried to stop him, but he slipped through. I am terribly sorry.’ The caped vampire straightened his collar, smiling as if crashing a royal dinner was the most normal thing on the planet, and turned to address the twins’ father.
‘Hello, Karl, my old friend,’ he said. ‘It’s been a detestably long time.’
Olivia saw the look on her bio-dad’s face and gasped. She had never seen him like this before; dark and scary. He looked like an evil vampire in a B-list horror movie. It actually gave her the chills when suddenly he snarled, ‘You!’ and leapt to his feet, his chair scooting back across the floor. The room fell silent.
Olivia dared a glance at Ivy, but her twin sister just shrugged. This guy knows our father? Olivia thought. How?
‘The nerve of that man,’ whispered a tuxedoed vampire with a thick goatee.
‘To prance around looking like a cheap haunted-house prop! It’s ludicrous.’ A woman wearing scarlet satin gloves tossed her napkin on the table in disgust.
Ludicrous was exactly the right word. The caped vampire wore thick eyeliner. His hair was greased back, styled into a sharp ‘V’ on his forehead. The lining of his cape was silky red and he wore pointy-toed boots that laced up to his knees. Olivia had never seen a more atrocious outfit anywhere, let alone smack bang in the middle of the Transylvanian elite!
Charles’s body was stiff and his expression was ice cold. There was anger in his voice as he finally addressed the caped vampire. ‘A long time? It has not been nearly long enough, Vincenzo.’
‘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.