whenever he asks Sir Ivor about them. Nicholas is also upset that Sir Ivor refuses to allow him to leave the house, or to have any friends of his own age. When Nicholas manages to escape from the house, he goes to Louisa's home, where he finds Jo's encyclopedia (which Jo had brought through the mirror to show to Louisa and her brother Titus when they have to write an essay about the Roman Empire). Intrigued by colour photographs, Nicholas checks for information about the Russian Royal Family. To his horror, he reads that Nicholas II, the Tsar of Russia, and his family, had been executed. When Jo and Louisa come into the room, Nicholas asks Jo where she got the book and demands that she tell him if the information is correct. Jo says that the book was given to her by her Dad and that the information is correct. Nicholas reveals to Jo and Louisa that he is Alexei Nikolaevich, the son of the Tsar, and that it is his family who had been executed. Sir Ivor's treachery is finally revealed. Instead of caring for Nicholas, Sir Ivor had actually brought Nicholas to New Zealand so that he could 'sell' Nicholas to the highest bidder – Russian Bolsheviks, who want to take Nicholas back to Russia with them so that Nicholas, the last surviving member of the Russian Royal Family, can be publicly executed. Jo asks her school friend, Tama, a science student, to assist her and Louisa and Nicholas. When Louisa and Tama meet for the first time, they instantly fall for each other – with the romantic bond between them deepening as time passes. There is also a romantic bond between Jo and Nicholas. Sir Ivor, who had earlier taken Nicholas' family signet ring (saying it was for the ring's 'safekeeping'), calls for Nicholas to be brought to him and then takes the ring from a desk drawer. Sir Ivor drops the ring into a container of toxic waste – in front of the horrified Nicholas – and warns Nicholas not to attempt to retrieve his ring from the container. Later, Nicholas, who requires his family signet ring as proof of his identity, tells Jo that the container of toxic waste is safe, as he has hidden it in the well. Jo is horrified at this and now considers Nicholas to be the person responsible for