Ivy was glad that she hadn’t had to grow up always worrying what the ‘refined’ thing to do was.
‘We have a happy life among humans,’ Mr Vega said. ‘Many vampires do.’
‘My understanding is that you had your own doubts on this matter,’ the Queen challenged.
Mr Vega coughed. ‘It is true that I thought once that vampires and humans together could only bring harm; I was proven incorrect. Of course humans and vampires can live together happily. My daughters are proof of that.’
Ivy got the sense that the Queen would not tolerate Alex having similar thoughts, despite the fact that he was at this moment escorting Olivia on a private tour of the palace grounds.
‘Do tell me the story, Charles,’ the Queen commanded. ‘Your parents have spent years talking about it in your absence.’
Mr Vega glanced at his mother, but said nothing. Ivy wondered if one of the windows had been left open, as cold air seemed to chill the room.
‘Ivy, my dear,’ Mr Vega said, ‘you must be eager to join your sister exploring the delights of the palace gardens.’
Ivy didn’t need asking twice. She nodded and leaped up, almost knocking into the glass bowl, grateful that her father was giving her an excuse to leave – especially because she didn’t trust herself to keep her mouth shut if the Queen was dismissive of her parents’ story.
She dropped an awkward curtsy and hurried out of the door.
In a hallway lined with tapestries of wolves hunting, Ivy asked a maid where the cloakroom was. She pulled on her crushed velvet coat and headed out into the cold. She could see the footprints where Alex and Olivia had been, and wondered if she would be able to catch them up.
Ten minutes later, Ivy was regretting it. ‘This hill is impossible!’ she said as the freezing wind whipped her hair into her face.
Two steps after taking a left fork in the path, her foot hit a slick patch of ice and caused her to do the splits. Good thing she was flexible enough not to feel like she’d been ripped in half.
As she picked herself up, she heard a male voice above her. She was almost at the top and realised she could hear Alex speaking, but couldn’t quite catch the words.
The voice was coming from a direction that took Ivy slightly off the path. She stepped on to some stones that led up the hill in a natural staircase.
She poked her head over the crest of the hill and saw her sister talking to the prince by a tree. She could just make out what Alex was saying.
‘. . . I think the poet wanted to show that you can’t judge something, or someone, at first glance.’
Oh my darkness, Ivy thought. He’s talking about poetry!
Then Alex grabbed her sister’s hands but a gust of wind prevented Ivy from hearing what he said next. Uh-oh, she thought. Picturesque views, clutching hands, poetry, Olivia looking wistful. Ivy knew exactly what was going on here. It was the day before Valentine’s Day and Alex was milking the romance for all it was worth. The vampire prince has fallen in love with Olivia!
Just then, her foot slipped. She tried to catch herself, flailing her arms and staggering, but it was too late. She twisted over, landed on her backside and slid down half the hill, right into the bushes. A pile of snow fell on top of her.
Ivy wiped chunks of ice from her face. I should have asked for snow boots!
She climbed to her feet, brushing the snow off her sleeves.
‘So much for my vampire skills,’ she muttered. Vampires were meant to be extra-specially agile, but that hadn’t stopped her from falling on her behind.
Back to the warm, she decided, marching towards the palace doors. And after that? She’d find out once and for all what the prince was up to.
Chapter Six
‘Welcome back, Miss Ivy,’ said Horatio as he opened the car door. Ivy breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared to the Queen’s estate, this is almost as ‘at-home’ as the Meat and Greet, Ivy thought.
‘Right over there,’ Prince Alex was saying to Olivia. He leaned in close to show her where he was pointing.
‘That fountain was where I broke my arm, trying to prove to Tessa that I could balance as well as she could,’ Alex said. ‘I couldn’t.’ Alex had insisted on accompanying them home.
‘I remember that,’ the Count said. ‘We had to send you off home in an ambulance. You were only eight.’
Alex smiled at the memory. ‘I got into lots of trouble.’
Ivy watched carefully, trying to see if Olivia had realised that Alex seemed to be into her, but Olivia was as relaxed and happy as ever.
Lunch at the palace had involved even smaller portions than last night’s dinner so Ivy decided to sneak off to the kitchen for the half hour before they were going to meet in the games room for a darts tournament.
Ivy pulled open the kitchen door and saw Tessa. She was washing plates in the deep ceramic sink. ‘Good afternoon, miss,’ she said and curtsied, her hands full of soap suds. Strands of dark hair had come out of her long braid, framing her pretty, heart-shaped face.
Ivy felt guilty for interrupting her work. ‘No, no, please, don’t be so formal,’ Ivy insisted. ‘I’m just sneaking in for a snack.’
‘Of course, what would you like?’ Tessa replied.
‘I can make it myself,’ Ivy said. ‘Please don’t stop what you were doing.’
Tessa smiled so that the freckles on her cheeks crinkled up. ‘Honestly, I’m happy to do it, and I know where everything is,’ she pointed out.
Ivy couldn’t argue with that, and she was pleased to see that Tessa had recovered from her crying fit last night. ‘OK, you can help, but you aren’t allowed to laugh when I put my smiley face of honey on my Platelet Porridge.’