Chapter 26
Jake stood in the hallway, admiring the mahogany panelling and polished wood floors. Despite the plethora of wood, the hall was bright, with natural sunlight streaming through the open doorways of the downstairs rooms and through the large landing window at the top of the stairs.
‘There are several rooms free, although you won’t have the complete pick of the rooms, as I already have other guests staying with us at the moment.’
Jake already knew about Mr Addison. He wondered who the other guests were. Probably tourists. Jake stared at the guesthouse owner. It was her, he was sure of it – the teenage girl he’d once met who’d given him and Marcus the fright of their lives.
‘I’m Gayle, by the way. Gayle Belafonte.’ She held out her hand.
Jake was about to take her hand. He looked at his bandaged hand. ‘Oh, um … I had a little mishap. Slipped on some broken glass.’
Gayle surprised him by gently taking his hand in hers. ‘The bandages need changing. I can look at that for you. I used to be a nurse.’
‘Really? Thank you. I’d appreciate it.’ His gaze shifted to Marcus as he stepped into the house, looking dishevelled and quite unwell. Can you look at him too, and sort him out? Jake kept his thoughts to himself.
Marcus caught Jake staring at him. ‘What?’
Jake shook his head at Marcus and turned his attention back to Gayle. He caught Gayle peering at him. She said, ‘Do I know you?’
He very much doubted that she’d recognise them as the two little boys who’d sneaked into her parents’ cellar. Rather, he imagined she’d seen their photos in the papers, or on the news. He saw her eyes flicker to Marcus too. He’d have to give their names. Then she’d ask why they were staying in her guesthouse and not at The Lake House.
Jake sighed. He did not want to go into his reasons for choosing to stay at her guesthouse rather than the Rosses’ holiday home around the corner. ‘I’m Jake Campbell-Ross, and this is Marcus Ross.’
Jake saw her eyebrows rise in surprise. Everyone knew the Ross name around the area. It crossed Jake’s mind that apart from William’s visit to see Gayle’s father, the local GP, one Christmas, they didn’t ever meet or have anything to do with the local community. They just stayed in their little wealthy family bubble. It was what Jake now loved about his new life – it didn’t consist of private jets and business board meetings; his world no longer revolved around the Rosses’ global corporation and the people working in it. He didn’t begrudge the time he’d spent in the company, or the family. If Eleanor was still there, that would still be his life. And it had been a good life. He’d just realised when he’d left it all behind that it wasn’t meant to be his life – it was Marcus’s, through and through.
Despite the state he was in, Marcus surprised Jake by holding out his hand to shake Gayle’s. ‘Very pleased to meet you, Gayle. You know, you scared the crap out of us when we were kids.’
Jake’s eyes went wide. He slowly turned to Marcus, glaring at him. Why had he brought that up?
Gayle slapped her knee and laughed. ‘Oh, my goodness. I knew it! It is you two! The little boys I had such fun scaring in the cellar all those years ago.’
Jake smiled. ‘Yes, that was us. Sorry about trespassing on your parents’ property. It was very wrong of us.’
Marcus chimed in. ‘Yeah – ditto. I think it was my idea, actually. I was an entitled little rich kid who thought I could do whatever I wanted.’
Gayle shook her head. ‘Hey, you don’t have to apologise. I remember the house was a bit of a magnet for local kids – some rumour I’d heard in town that it was haunted. Because of how rundown it was, I guess it did look like some scary old house from an American horror movie, didn’t it?’
Jake exchanged a smile with Marcus. It was true.
When my parents moved in, they’d taken out a large mortgage to afford this place, so it took many years for them to do the place up.’
Jake was still admiring the hallway. ‘Well, they did an amazing job. The place couldn’t be more different.’
Gayle nodded and smiled. ‘It wasn’t my parents who did all this. They had the place renovated to a degree, years ago, but it became rundown again as they got older. Even so, what they did to the place was nothing like it is now.’
‘Well, whoever did all this has quite a talent.’
Gayle smiled. ‘I know. Perhaps you’ll get to meet her during your stay. She’s quite the interior designer, and she’s my friend.’
Jake raised his eyebrows. ‘Interior design? Her name isn’t Robyn, by any chance?’
Gayle looked at him in surprise. ‘Yes. Do you know her?’
‘No, not at all. It was a lucky guess. I did see a new shop, I mean outlet, in Mr Gillespie’s general store with the name, Robyn’s Interior Design . I passed it by as I drove through Aviemore, and the rather lovely window display caught my eye.’ Jake continued, ‘My wife would love … would have loved—’ he stopped short. Gayle and Marcus were staring at him.
Gayle stepped into the awkward silence. ‘Come, let me show you around.’
‘Yes, I’d like that,’ Jake said, relieved Gayle hadn’t taken what he’d just said, bringing Eleanor into the conversation without thinking, as an opening to start talking about her, and what a tragedy everyone in the local community had thought it was when they’d found out about the skiing accident on Christmas Day. Jake didn’t want to hear it. He imagined it had been the talk of Aviemore.
It hadn’t occurred to Jake that unless he checked into a hotel or guesthouse under a false identity, which he would not, everyone would know who he was the moment he told them his name, and inevitably the topic of what had happened on that ski slope last December would raise its head – for most people. But it turned out that Gayle was not most people. Somehow, she understood that although well meaning, Jake did not want to hear words of sympathy from strangers.
Jake smiled at her back as she led the way down the hallway, opening doors and showing them the lounge, the dining room, the kitchen where breakfast was served between eight and ten, and the study – which had been her father’s study but was now a safe space for relaxation, meditation and reading. ‘Whatever floats your boat,’ said Gayle, cheerfully.
Jake frowned at Marcus when he whispered, ‘Right now, some booze.’
‘There’s a drinks cabinet in the lounge, if you fancy a tipple.’
Jake turned and grinned at Marcus. Gayle had heard him.
Marcus frowned and shut his mouth.
Jake looked at Gayle, who was glancing at Marcus over her shoulder with an expression of wry amusement.
‘Now, which rooms would you both like?’ They started up the stairs. Depending on your budget, I’ve got large, with a super king-sized bed, mid-range – a standard double or twin. And a small – that’s a single bedded room, although I’m afraid I only have one of those left. I already have a guest in the other one.
Jake found this all rather amusing, considering that they were Rosses; they could have bought a whole house on a whim just to stay a couple of nights if they’d wanted to. It had not slipped Jake’s notice that the Ross Corporation – meaning William Ross – was still depositing money into his bank account each month, unbelievably including bonuses, as though he was still an active employee of the company. And he was still one of the three majority shareholders of the company.
Despite numerous phone calls to make the payments stop, his requests had fallen on deaf ears, despite William’s longstanding belief that even if they were family, they had to work hard for their positions. The worst part was that Jake was living on some of that money. He knew he was on a low starting salary as a student teacher, but he’d seen the pay scales. Even when he progressed, he didn’t know how he was going to support himself, living in London on a teaching salary. He honestly didn’t know how classrooms teachers did it. That was why he imagined Faye had worked her way up to being a deputy head, and was not only working full-time but doing an additional qualification so she could apply for a headship.
Thinking of the money, Jake knew that neither he nor Marcus would dream of doing something as extravagant as buying a property on a whim. The Ross family were not the kinds of people to flaunt their wealth, or spend it frivolously.
Jake said, ‘We’re happy to share. A mid-range twin room would be just fine.’ Jake wasn’t thinking about the money, though. He wanted to keep an eye on Marcus that night; he was still undecided about whether he should call out a doctor. Marcus did not look well.