Page 66 of The Boathouse By the Loch

‘Oh, you mean Jake is coming back?’ David asked nonchalantly before tasting the stew.

‘Yes, hopefully,’ Gayle replied.

Robyn looked from one to the other. ‘I’m sorry, but what are you talking about? I didn’t think you had any guests at the moment.’

Gayle passed David some crusty bread and opened a bottle of wine. ‘No, not this weekend. Well, I did have Jake Campbell-Ross here. He had several nights booked, but had to leave unexpectedly with an emergency.’

Robyn nearly choked on her stew. She spluttered, ‘Jake Campbell-Ross, as in—’

‘The guy whose wife, Eleanor, had that accident here last Christmas.’

Robyn sucked in a breath. ‘A Ross was right here, in this guesthouse?’

Gayle smiled. ‘Oh, yes. I’m afraid you just missed meeting him.’

Robyn stared at her, open-mouthed, then turned to David, remembering what he’d just said. ‘You’ve met him – haven’t you?’

He shrugged. ‘Yeah.’

‘And you’re on a first-name basis with him already?’

‘We were going to have a drink together at the—’

Gayle added, ‘He left this morning before you arrived.’

Although she’d got a new commission in London, Robyn was still committed to working on The Lake House too. The problem was that she hadn’t met any of the Rosses to discuss the finer details. She wasn’t even sure which Ross had actually commissioned her to do it, as the email had come from the company – the Ross Corporation – selecting her little interior design company to do the work, and was obviously signed by one of their employees; a Mr Aubrey Jones. Whoever that was. Various searches on the internet had produced absolutely no results whatsoever, and she’d started to get concerned that the email might be some sort of scam – especially when Marty, the gardener who worked in the grounds of The Lake House, had told her he had not put in a good word for her with the Rosses as she’d assumed.

So where had the commission come from? She’d wanted to meet one of them, or at least contact them to find out. But getting hold of one of the Rosses personally was impossible.

She should have been disappointed to hear she’d just missed meeting one of them, but she felt a huge relief. She felt absurdly anxious about the prospect. Once again, she recalled that Annie had told her not to be intimidated at the thought of meeting them just because they were very rich.

But it wasn’t that. Robyn’s thoughts turned again to the doll’s house. She could feel her face growing bright red at the thoughtthat Jake Campbell-Ross had actually been right there in Lark Lodge. Did he remember the old doll’s house in the basement of The Lake House? Did he see the resemblance to some of the rooms she’d decorated?

‘Are you all right?’ Gayle asked. ‘Your face has gone bright pink.’

‘It’s, um—’

‘Rather hot in here,’ David said.

‘Oh, I did wonder if lighting the fire was overdoing it a bit on a summer’s evening. I just thought it added a bit of ambience,’ Gayle said. She poured them both a glass of bubbly. ‘I expect him back soon.’

‘He’s coming back?’

‘I hope so. I’ve kept the attic room available for his return.’

‘When?’ Robyn looked over at the door, as though he’d walk in at any moment. ‘Tonight?’

‘Oh, not tonight. He only left this morning. I’d expect the earliest would be tomorrow. He could turn up at any time.’

‘Any time?’

‘Yes, as I said, the room is ready. He’s paid upfront for several more days, so I’m hoping he’ll return, otherwise I’m going to refund him the money or put it towards another week if he wants to postpone his trip.’ She put the bottle of bubbly down. ‘Well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds in peace.’

‘I’ve changed my mind about staying the weekend.’ Robyn caught David raising his eyebrows in surprise.

‘Oh, you have?’ said Gayle, looking equally surprised. ‘I thought you said—’ She paused. ‘Ah, I understand. It’s Jake Campbell-Ross.’

‘Why do you say that?’ Robyn could feel the colour rising inher cheeks again.

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