Maeve on the Red Carpet by Annie Bryant Page B

long, winding marble staircase. The walls were covered with large oil paintings that were full of color, just like the ones I’d seen at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. At the top of the staircase, in a fancy gold frame, was the largest portrait of all. It was of Maddie in a long purple dress holding Fitzy in her arms. Purple velvet drapes hung on either side of the picture. “We close the drapes when it gets too sunny so the paint doesn’t fade,” Kenneth explained.
    We walked down a long, lavish hallway. It felt like it went on forever. Finally we got to a large door with a gold plaque on it that said “Madeline” in script. Kenneth rapped on the door and I heard Maddie’s voice chirp, “Enter.”
    When Kenneth opened the door I gasped and coveredmy mouth with my hand. Madeline’s room made my pink palace seem like a shoe box. First of all—it wasn’t just a room, it was a … hotel suite fit for a princess.
    Maddie was sitting cozily on a green satin sofa next to two matching chairs and a coffee table. There was a sterling silver tea set on the coffee table and two plates—cookies and scones on one and cheese and crackers on the other. Steam was even rising from the teapot.
    “Maeve, darling. You’re just in time for cocoa,” Maddie said, patting the couch beside her. She took a sip out of her cup with her little pinky sticking straight up in the air.
    Seriously, I could not believe her room. Right then, I really did feel like Little Orphan Annie seeing Daddy Warbucks’s mansion for the first time. I used to think that canopy beds were the ultimate in dreaminess …
until
I saw Maddie’s bed. It was humongous and draped in luxurious fabric right smack in the middle of her room. But the best part was the lace veil that hung from her ceiling and covered her bedposts like a curtain of mist. It reminded me of the dreamy bed in the movie version of
The Secret Garden
. I always thought that kind of bed was so romantic, but I’d never seen one in person until now …
    Maddie had the most spectacular view. Her enormous windows opened up to a balcony that looked right over the Boston Common and the Massachusetts State House with its gold dome. I could imagine rehearsing lines out there on a sunny day with my big sunglasses. Maybe I’d be practicing a song and a cute boy walking on thesidewalk below would hear my voice and become completely enchanted. Anyway … a girl could dream.
    “Now, Maeve darling, come over and have a cup of this delicious hot cocoa,” Maddie called.
    Kenneth poured a stream of creamy chocolate liquid into a porcelain tea cup, scooped out a dollop of whipped cream from a silver bowl, and plopped it in with a little splash. “I’ve got to go help your father now, Miss Maddie. He’s organizing a Krupcake convention in Baltimore. Call down when you two are ready for dinner.”
    Kenneth waved and shut the door behind him.
    “So, darling, what do think of my little home?” Maddie tucked her blond hair behind her ear and smiled sweetly.
    “
Little home?
Maddie, this place is huge! The hallways go on, like, forever.”
    Maddie shrugged. “I guess it just seems little compared to our cottage in the Hamptons. Maeve, have you been to the Hamptons? It’s so fabulous.”
    I shook my head. Why did Maddie always call things “little” or “cottage” when what she really meant was just the opposite?
    “Now, Maeve, that outfit, it’s
really
not quite right.” Maddie looked disapprovingly at me. She had told me that the dress code for the night was comfy-casual, but here Maddie was wearing a short, cream-colored dress with a pearl necklace and pearl earrings. A white fur shawl rested over her shoulders. Meanwhile, I had thrown on a terrycloth pink sweat suit. I should’ve known that in the VonKrupcake household, comfy-casual meant a whole other league altogether.
    “I’m sorry … I left all my dresses at home …” I began.
    “Well, that little jogging ensemble you have on will