‘I did not give you a dress,’ Alex said.
Now Olivia was completely baffled. ‘But if you didn’t . . . then who did?’
‘Don’t you want a moment to rest? A nap, perhaps?’ Ivy almost pleaded. She’d delayed Jackson as much as she could on the way up, but couldn’t keep it going forever.
He dumped his backpack on the red-patterned carpet and had a quick look around the bedroom. It had a beautiful view over the lake, dozens of old-looking framed maps on the walls and a gold inlay wooden dresser and wardrobe.
‘Beautiful,’ he said and then turned to leave. Ivy needed more time.
‘I came to see Olivia, and I don’t want to waste another minute,’ he declared.
Ivy sighed. Jackson was going to find Olivia alone with Alex, who was probably spouting poetry to her this very second. Maybe, she thought, if I steer him clear for long enough, she’ll be back in our room.
‘OK, let’s see if we can find her,’ she replied cheerfully. She led him out of the hall and paused for a moment, pretending to be considering which way to go. Then she turned away from the nearest staircase.
‘What do you think of this?’ Ivy asked, pausing in front of a painting of a flower pot.
‘It looks like all those flowers are dead,’ Jackson replied.
‘Mmm,’ Ivy replied, pretending to consider it. ‘The artist must have been commenting on the whole genre of still life. What is life when it is still?’ She had no idea what she was saying but she hoped it sounded good.
‘Yeah, that’s deep,’ Jackson said, not engaging. ‘Can we find Olivia now?’
She stayed in front of the painting for another moment. Jackson looked like he was going to run off on his own. She tried to keep him up on the third floor as long as she could, but he caught on when they passed their second staircase.
‘Shouldn’t we go downstairs?’ Jackson asked.
‘Um, yes, but the first two were . . . under construction,’ Ivy lied.
‘Really?’ Jackson didn’t look like he believed her but he followed her down one of the middle staircases.
When they made it to the ground floor, they had a choice, either to walk through the main entrance or to go the long way, past the kitchens. There were people buzzing around everywhere – extra catering staff, people carrying crates of wine glasses. Preparations for the ball were in full swing.
The long way it is, Ivy thought. ‘Let’s go in this direction!’
But after turning a corner into a second hallway, her super-vamp hearing picked up the sound of Olivia’s voice in a room ahead of them – followed by Alex’s.
‘Um, actually,’ Ivy said. ‘I’ve gone the wrong way – let’s go back. I think there’s a statue back there that I should have pointed out to you.’
Jackson stopped and crossed his arms. ‘Ivy, are you hiding something?’
‘Uh . . .’ Ivy winced. Her Night Stalker skills had deserted her. ‘Of course not, I just . . .’
‘You took me to see the portraits of the family horses, and then offered a viewing of the incredible feat of raking the gravel on the front drive. I’ve seen every potted plant in the house and, while fascinating, I know more than I ever wanted to about the history of the Lazar family. Now you want to retrace our steps for a statue. I’m no detective – although I have played one – but it seems to me like something funny is going on.’
‘No, no!’ Ivy wanted to smack her forehead but that would give the game away. The worst thing she could have done was get up his suspicions – well, the worst thing besides leading him straight to Olivia and Alex.
The sound of Olivia laughing floated clearly down the hallway.
‘Olivia!’ declared Jackson and headed in that direction.
‘I–I think that was just the TV,’ Ivy stammered, hurrying after him.
‘I don’t know why you’re being so weird,’ Jackson said, pausing outside the library door.
‘Have you seen the lake?’ Ivy tried as a last-ditch effort. ‘It’s really beautiful –’
But Jackson was already pushing open the door. Wider, wider . . . Oh no! Ivy could see Olivia giving Alex a big hug – and so could Jackson.
Olivia’s boyfriend stood in the open doorway, watching her embracing someone else.
It doesn’t get any worse than this, Ivy thought, peeking from behind her fingers.
Chapter Nine
Olivia turned to the door and gasped. She pulled away from Alex and blurted out the first thing that came into her mind. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’
Then she realised that sounded rude. ‘I mean, hi, Jackson!’
She’d only been comforting Alex, but she could guess what it must have looked like to Jackson. She hurried over to give him a hug but he seemed stiff and didn’t really hug her back.
Olivia looked at Ivy, who offered a sympathetic shrug.
‘Surprise,’ he said but Olivia could see he was staring at Alex. Staring hard.
‘I’m Alex.’ The prince reached out to shake Jackson’s hand. ‘Olivia has just been singing your praises.’
‘It’s true,’ Olivia said. ‘I was just saying how much I wished you could be here for Valentine’s Day. And here you are!’
‘Here I am,’ Jackson said with a cold stare. He shook hands with Alex but didn’t look happy about it. Olivia had only ever seen him look angry once, and it was in a movie when he’d played an evil robot. ‘What’s going on, Olivia?’
‘I know it looks bad,’ Olivia began but Alex stepped in.
‘There’s been a mix-up,’ he said. ‘Olivia thought that I was interested in her and was just telling me how she was your girlfriend.’
‘So why all the hugging?’ Jackson asked Olivia.
‘We’re just friends,’ she said. She could feel her face blushing. ‘There’s someone else he wants to be with, but he hasn’t told me who.’
She looked into Jackson’s eyes, hoping that he would understand. Please don’t be mad. We haven’t done anything wrong. She forced herself not to look away, knowing how guilty that would make her look. After a moment, his face softened and a small smile appeared.
‘Surprised?’ he said.
‘Definitely surprised!’ Olivia breathed out with relief, and gave him another hug. This time he hugged her back.