Page 14 of The Boathouse By the Loch

‘For your information, yes, she is in London. I’m not covering for her, if that’s what you think.’

Jake opened his mouth, but thought the better of saying anything further and putting his foot in it. ‘Sorry,’ he said in a small voice, and continued eating his stew.

Unfortunately, Gayle wasn’t finished. ‘She’ll be back from London quite soon, I imagine.’

Jake recalled part of the conversation he had overheard coming down the stairs – something about Robyn setting off to London unexpectedly.

‘Although she left in rather a hurry, according to David.’ Gayle stared into space, thinking aloud. ‘Little wonder David thought there was something going on because he’s right, they usually go together. But by the sound of it, she was insistent she took the trip alone. I have no idea why.’

Jake continued eating his stew, keeping his thoughts to himself.Namely, that she must be meeting someone that she didn’t want David to know about.

‘I expect her back in town sometime this week.’

‘Really?’ Jake was very pleased by this unexpected news; maybe he’d get to meet her.

Gayle pointed at her stew. ‘I think I’ve surpassed myself this time. It’s actually rather good.’ Gayle was clearly surprised.

Jake put the spoon to his lips. ‘Mmm … now this is a tasty stew.’ Jake smiled. The condiments had worked.

Chapter 6

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 loungedoorway, 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.

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