Page 10 of The Boathouse by the Loch (The Scottish Highlands #4)

Jake sipped his coffee and looked around the lounge.

It was comfortably furnished with an assortment of soft furnishings and antiques that didn’t match but made the room feel homely.

It reminded Jake of the lounge in his own house, The Lake House, that the Rosses used as a holiday home, and where they all spent Christmas each year.

It made him wonder what would happen next Christmas.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to think about that.

It was months away. But one thing he was certain of was that nobody would be spending Christmas in that house.

Like at Gayle’s house, the lounge at The Lake House overlooked the garden and contained odd bits of archaic furniture that had been passed down the generations on his father’s side, almost making the lounge into a museum piece.

Jake’s eyes settled on Gayle’s mother, who was dozing in an armchair by the window.

He could hear the occasional clatter of cutlery and crockery coming from the kitchen.

Gayle had insisted that he should take his coffee into the lounge and leave her to do the dishes.

He sipped his coffee and waited for Gayle to join him.

‘There, that didn’t take long.’ Gayle appeared at the lounge doorway, her apron gone, a cup of coffee in hand.

‘Now, where were we?’ Gayle sat on the sofa opposite Jake.

‘Marty,’ Jake reminded her. He had asked Gayle where the young gardener was who was currently living at her guesthouse.

It turned out he was having a night out with friends.

‘I was telling you that I met up with Marty before I left for the airport. Then you booted me out of the kitchen.’ Jake sounded hurt. ‘I only offered to wipe up.’

‘You’re my guest, Jake.’ Gayle rolled her eyes. ‘Next you’ll be helping me prepare the meals.’

Jake pursed his lips, thinking of the condiments he had surreptitiously added to her stew. ‘So, like I said,’ he said, moving swiftly on. ‘I saw Marty, and apparently he is getting paid for the gardening.’ Jake was unsure just how much Gayle was feigning ignorance because it involved her friend.

Gayle brought the cup to her lips and took a sip of coffee without comment.

Jake continued, ‘Marty is paid to maintain the gardens by your friend Robyn.’

‘I know,’ Gayle said simply, picking up her teaspoon and slowly stirring her coffee. ‘I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want to get her in any sort of trouble. Sorry.’ She cast a furtive glance at him.

‘Don’t be,’ Jake reassured her. ‘It’s no trouble.’

‘Well, that’s what I said to her; I didn’t see why she would get into trouble for doing a good deed.

She wasn’t sure how your family would feel about it, or about the fact that Marty took her on a tour of the house.

I told her that if anything, you’d be grateful.

It’s not like she was taking anything that wasn’t hers. ’

Jake stared at Gayle .

Gayle stopped stirring her coffee, conscious of Jake’s frozen glare. ‘She didn’t, did she?’

‘No, no,’ Jake’s eyes dropped to his coffee cup.

‘There’s nothing missing.’ Not in the tangible sense, anyway, he thought.

She hadn’t actually removed anything. Borrowing an idea didn’t count, did it?

Jake was thinking again of the old doll’s house in the basement of The Lake House.

It had been quite a shock to discover that some of the décor in Lark Lodge was eerily similar to the miniature rooms in the doll’s house that Eleanor had decorated as a child.

When Marcus had discovered this, he’d been very angry. Jake didn’t see the harm in it, or in the fact that Marty had clearly shown Robyn around The Lake House. He must have found the spare door key under the flowerpot. Or was it the doormat? Jake couldn’t remember.

Marcus had thought that Robyn must have been paying Marty to look after the gardens because she’d felt guilty for stealing Eleanor’s designs from her old doll’s house.

Jake was inclined to agree with Marcus, but he wasn’t bothered.

He didn’t begrudge Marty a hot drink if he wanted to use the kitchen while he worked on the gardens, and he understood Robyn’s curiosity about the Rosses, and why she’d want to take a look around the house.

The question was, had her generosity – paying Marty to look after the gardens of his house – extended to redecorating too? Jake didn’t think so. She surely didn’t have the time to redecorate his house for free, never mind the money for the materials.

Jake admitted, ‘I was intending to return to The Lake House and stay there, but—’

‘It holds too many memories from past.’

‘Well, yes. But that wasn’t the reason I’m not staying there this time. On a more practical note, it’s in the throes of being redecorated.’

‘Oh, yes of course. Robyn said she’d been instructed to redecorate the house. I remember Annie mentioning to me that Robyn was so nervous about meeting a Ross that she even asked Annie if she would go to the house in her place.’

‘How strange,’ Jake said, rubbing his chin.

Gayle shook her head. ‘Not really. The Rosses, and I’m including you, are practically celebrities, you know. Because you’re so wealthy. Not that you splash your wealth around, or anything.’

Jake bit his lower lip, wondering what she would make of the fact that he’d bought Marty a house. And not just any house. The rather lovely show home, which was one of the most expensive houses on the new development where Nick worked.

Jake decided not to share that fact just then.

Instead, he asked, ‘So, did she meet one of the Rosses at the house? It wasn’t me, if she did,’ he quickly added.

At least if Gayle could tell him who it was, then it would clear up the little mystery over who exactly had employed her.

Of course, it wouldn’t clear up the why.

Although that was obvious; after months and months of standing empty without a soul visiting, apart from Marty making himself a cuppa while he was gardening, the place was starting to deteriorate at an alarming rate.

‘No, she did not. Nobody turned up. Which surprised her. Surprised me too. I think the remit was just to use her judgement. Which I think is a good call, knowing Robyn’s interior design skills.’ Gayle paused. ‘Have you been back to the house?’

Jake nodded, lost in thought. He knew Eleanor’s father, William Ross, was on a golf course somewhere. Marcus was always too busy with work, or finding his next drug score. And Grace Ross, Eleanor’s mother, was always too wrapped up in herself to care about anyone or anything else.

That left Aubrey. Jake looked at Gayle, and knew the only explanation was that Aubrey had hired her. He didn’t want to get into that.

‘Do you like it? What’s she’s done so far?’

As far as Jake could see, she’d bought materials, but hadn’t actually started yet. He supposed that didn’t stop him from moving back in for a few days. But he didn’t want to hold her up, if her intention was to crack on with it when she returned from London.

‘Yes, it’s great,’ Jake replied reassuringly, catching the worried look on Gayle’s face.

Even though Robyn hadn’t started, going by what she’d done to Gayle’s guesthouse, Jake was confident that whatever she chose to do would be a vast improvement.

In fact, he hoped she changed the décor completely. Then it wouldn’t remind him of—

‘What I can’t figure out is why she would do such a thing.’ Gayle cut across his thoughts.

It took a few seconds for it to register that Gayle was referring to Robyn’s trip to London without David.

‘And another thing …’ Gayle put her teaspoon on the saucer and looked at Jake thoughtfully. ‘She didn’t tell me herself, you know. I had to hear it from Marty.’

‘About her trip to London?’ Jake furrowed his brow, wondering why she’d told Marty.

‘No. I’m talking about paying him to work on your garden.’

‘Oh, right.’

Gayle continued, ‘I expect she knew I might have a thing or two to say about her generosity. I don’t really understand why all the interest in The Lake House – do you? ’

That thought had crossed Jake’s mind. What if he was way off beam and there was more to it than copying the miniature room designs in the doll’s house? It made him wonder if Robyn knew Eleanor. He looked at Gayle. Perhaps she’d know.

‘Did Robyn know my wife, Eleanor?’

‘I don’t know.’ Gayle shrugged. ‘Although it would certainly explain why she has a fondness for your garden.’

‘She hasn’t said anything to you?’ Jake paused in anticipation. ‘… About Eleanor?’

Gayle put her empty cup on the wooden coffee table between them. ‘It would appear there’s a lot she hasn’t told me, lately.’

Thinking of these illicit trips to London that had David wound up like a tight coil, it seemed to Jake that Robyn had a few secrets of her own. Would she have shared any of these with Eleanor? What would Eleanor have shared in return?

Jake thought of David’s parting words, I’m losing her, and I don’t even know why.

Those words mirrored Jake’s own feelings on his final days with Eleanor just before Christmas.

There had been something wrong, something bugging her.

It should have been the best holiday of their married life together.

She had finally become pregnant. They had been looking forward to telling her parents.

At least, Jake had been. He had wanted it to be their Christmas present to her parents and to Marcus.

But everything she had done had been out of character.

She hadn’t wanted to spend the holiday with her family at The Lake House. That had been so unlike her.

When Jake had insisted on their going anyway, she’d avoided him, going shopping alone in Aviemore instead.

She hardly ever went shopping in Aviemore.

She’d been out when he’d arrived late at The Lake House from work on Christmas Eve.

They hadn’t travelled up together to Scotland that Christmas, which was another first.