‘Really?’ Olivia shook her head in wonder. I can’t imagine my bio-dad ever being wild!
He nodded stiffly. ‘The point is, there are certain things that certain friends can get away with, even if . . . well, ah . . . in this instance it’s an affectionate nickname. Even though it does drive me crazy!’
‘I’m not surprised.’ Olivia gave her dad’s arm an affectionate squeeze. Charles was so proper and upright, yet he still cared so much for his friends. It was part of why she loved him . . . and why she had to be brave now, no matter how uncomfortable it felt.
‘There is something I wanted to talk to you about,’ she said, as he led her under a low archway. ‘I feel kind of weird bringing it up, I know you think I’m probably too young for this stuff, but –’
‘And here we are!’ Sweeping out his arm, Charles flicked a switch on the wall. Suddenly, light illuminated the vast room spread out before them, with electric candles set all along the wall and a massive chandelier in the centre of the high, vaulted ceiling. ‘The main display room of the museum – and as you can see, none of these artefacts are hidden behind dust-sheets!’
‘Oh, wow.’ Olivia blinked as she looked around, her eyes adjusting to the sudden light . . . and the massive, sparkling collection of glass cases, paintings and sculptures that filled the room.
Charles smiled in obvious satisfaction. ‘I’ve shared a room with these artefacts since yesterday morning, but they still take my breath away every time.’
Shaking her head in wonder, Olivia leaned closer to the nearest case. ‘Is that really thirteenth-century?’
‘A fragment from a lost citadel.’ Charles beamed. ‘And did you see that Byzantine Triptych?’
‘It’s great,’ Olivia said honestly. ‘But that isn’t what I’m here for tonight. The truth is . . .’ Her fingers twisted together as she forced herself to finish: ‘I really want to know if Lillian is OK.’
It was too late. Her bio-dad’s gaze had already fixed on a marble statue, and his eyes had glazed. ‘Of course,’ he muttered to himself. ‘Of course. The statue of Vladymore should never have gone here. What was I thinking? I should have put it next to the terracotta urn!’ He pushed past her, tutting to himself. ‘What a fool I’ve been!’
‘Dad . . .’ Olivia began.
But it was no use. He was already pacing through the aisles of his exhibit, his eyebrows scrunched in concentration. ‘If I shifted the reliquary next to the casket . . .’
Olivia sighed. The last time she’d seen her bio-dad like this, he’d been in Groomzilla-mode, getting ready for his wedding. Back then, she’d found his single-focus mode kind of charming. Now, though . . .
She bit her lip. Could this have something to do with how Lillian had been acting this week? If he’d been ignoring his wife to spend all his time with a bunch of old artefacts in a creepy house in the middle of town, it was no wonder Lillian had gotten so depressed.
I can’t let this go. Steeling herself, Olivia marched up to him. ‘Can I talk to you, please? It’s important.’
‘Of course, of course.’ Charles didn’t take his eyes off the medieval artefacts in front of him. Even as he answered, he was pulling out a tiny notebook and a gold pen from his pocket. ‘I’ll be right with you in . . . no, no, no! These descriptive cards have been mistranslated! Those idiots! Sorry . . .’
He stopped, breathing hard, as he seemed to finally remember Olivia. ‘Sorry,’ he repeated. ‘I don’t mean to be rude, I’m just a little stressed about this exhibit. Please, can you just sit tight for a moment? I’ll be right back – and once I’m back, I promise I will give you my full attention.’
Without waiting for an answer, he scooped up two handfuls of the descriptive cards from beneath their artefacts and hurried out of the room, muttering to himself, ‘As if medieval Transylvanian is even difficult!’
Drat. Olivia’s hope deflated like a popped balloon as her bio-dad disappeared, leaving her alone in the massive, echoing room. So much for her great attempt!
But then again, what am I even going to say? She groaned. How do you tell your own father that you think his new wife is unhappy?
Squaring her shoulders, she braced herself. I’ve got at least ten minutes to figure this out. Maybe all her acting experience would finally come in handy! She could improv by herself for a few minutes, and have a perfect ‘scene’ to play out with her bio-dad by the time he got back.
And . . . action!
‘Dad,’ she said out loud, to the room full of artefacts, ‘this is a difficult thing to bring up, and you might even think it’s inappropriate coming from a daughter – especially one as young as me – but . . . I know this may seem out of the blue, but I really think you might be missing something about Lillian. I mean, shouldn’t she be happy and content so soon after that gorgeous wedding? But she’s not, and that scares me a lot more than any spooky old buildings or vampires in jogging outfits. Because if she really is so unhappy that she’s fantasising about escaping, I just don’t know what I can do to make it right. That’s why I need your help . . .’
‘Help with what?’ Charles’s voice spoke just behind her, making her jump.
‘Oh!’ Putting one hand to her throat, Olivia waited for her heartbeat to slow down. ‘I didn’t hear you coming.’
Why am I the only one without vampire hearing?
He frowned at her quizzically. ‘Were you . . . talking to the artefacts?’