Page 101 of The Boathouse By the Loch

Gayle guessed what she was thinking. ‘Robyn, you’ll love this surprise.’

She heard David answer the door. ‘Hey, so glad you could make it.’

She heard the front door close. Then a couple with a child appeared in the kitchen doorway.

Behind them, David said, ‘I’d like you all to meet Faye Ames, her daughter, Natasha, and their good friend, Mr Jake Campbell-Ross.’

There were gasps from the people in the kitchen. They were all delighted to meet an actual Ross in the flesh. All of them apart from one. ‘Oh, my god,’ said Robyn.

Chapter 36

Robyn slunk into the background as everyone got out of their seats – everyone apart from Judith, who probably had no idea who Jake Campbell-Ross was. They all gathered around, welcoming the three new guests, eager to speak to Jake Campbell-Ross and shake his hand. One oftheRosses.

Robyn glared at David, who was looking very pleased with himself as he welcomed the mystery guests and thanked them for coming to his humble abode. Robyn rolled her eyes when she heard him say that, like he was in the presence of a celebrity, or royalty. Annie had been right, back when Robyn had thought she was meeting a Ross at The Lake House after finding out she had that commission, when she’d told her not to be intimidated by their wealth. It hadn’t actually been their wealth that she had been concerned about, but the fact that she’d plagiarised those designs in the old doll’s house in the basement of The Lake House and had recreated them in Lark Lodge.

She stared at Jake Campbell-Ross, who was busy chatting and shaking hands with the other guests, and thought that he must know what she’d done. He’d been in Lark Lodge. This was just what she had been afraid of. Was she in trouble? She guessed shewas about to find out. Any minute, David was going to introduce Jake to her.

Robyn caught the time on the clock on the wall. The lasagne and pizza were ready. She had to get them out of the oven.

She was about to put on her oven gloves when she saw the large bowl with the side salad sitting on the worktop. Robyn picked it up off the counter to put it on the table. She turned around and

was surprised to find Judith standing directly in front of her; clearly she wasn’t interested in talking to Mr Campbell-Ross either.

‘Oh, that was good timing. Could you just put this on the table?’ Robyn held out the salad bowl.

Judith’s arms remained resolutely by her sides. She opened her mouth to speak but it seemed to take her several seconds longer to formulate the words. Finally, she said, ‘What do you want?’ Her voice was flat, toneless, oddly devoid of emotion, as though she were a robot.

Robyn glanced at the other guests, who were still gathered around Jake. Evie had made a new friend. They were both seated at their little table, chatting. Robyn looked at Judith. ‘If you could just take this and put it—’

She was cut off in mid-sentence by that strangely toneless voice again. ‘Whatever you want, you can have,’ she said. ‘Anything.’ Her eyes pleading. ‘Just stop.’

‘I don’t …’

‘I just want her back.’ Her voice was hushed, but full of emotion this time. ‘I played along with your little game at the airport, thinking,isn’t this just like Robyn? Never straightforward.’

Robyn knitted her brow. Judith’s behaviour was getting even stranger. She said, ‘Mum – what’s wrong?’

She stepped back. ‘Stop it,’ her voice was no longer hushed.Robyn stopped where she was, wondering what had happened, what had got into her. She looked over at the others. Gayle was looking her way.

‘Stop it. Just stop it. I’ve kept up the charade, but I can’t stand it another minute.’ Her voice grew louder as Robyn grew more concerned for her stepmother’s wellbeing. Was she having a breakdown?

‘Just tell me what you want!’ she demanded. ‘I thought I knew what your game was. I thought you were Robyn’s friend, and she’d asked you to do this, to play some silly prank on me, and I’d arrive here, and she’d be here.’

‘What are you talking about?’

This time she yelled, ‘Where is my stepdaughter?’

The room suddenly fell silent. Everyone was looking her way. Worse still, so was Mr Campbell-Ross. Then the room started to spin. Robyn remembered the feeling from when she was a child. It was a game she had played, spinning around and around as fast as she could with her arms outstretched like a spinning top. She was with another child, younger than her. They were spinning together. Then, when she stopped, suddenly the ground violently tilted until she couldn’t keep her balance and she fell, clinging to the floor for dear life.

She faintly heard the sound of a bowl hit the floor and shatter. Distant voices were calling her name. The last thing she heard quite clearly was Judith saying she was going to call the police.

Someone was holding Robyn’s hands. She opened her eyes. Gayle was beside her, patting her hand. Annie was holding a glass of water to her lips. When she had sufficiently gathered her senses,she realised that David must be kneeling on the floor, her head in his lap, the palm of his hand resting gently on her forehead.

She stared up at David. ‘What happened?’

‘You fainted,’ said David with concern.

‘Help me up.’

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