Chapter 49
Jake manoeuvred the car out of the car park, anticipating an altogether less eventful ride back from the airport than the one there. He was right. The journey was only enlivened by the occasional pothole in the road, which sent sharp darts of pain whipping through his temples and exploding behind his eyes. They only served to remind him, once again, what an idiot he’d been.
Shortly before the turn-off for Aviemore, Jake heard his mobile bleep with a text message. Jake raised his eyebrows. His heart leapt. Was it Faye?
He continued until he reached a lay-by and then pulled over. Jake was disappointed to discover it wasn’t Faye. The text was from Lawrence at the care home, asking him to give him a call. Jake hoped to goodness it wasn’t bad news; that Lawrence was going to tell him that Martha had passed away before he’d been able to find her long-lost son.
‘Mr Campbell-Ross, Jake, so glad you got in touch, as I have some good news. I made a few enquiries after you left, and yes, Martha did have a visitor on the day you came. It was a friend of the late Arnold Wright. Apparently, he has been visiting at least twice a week since Arnold died. I spoke to him on the phone. Arnold had been trying to trace Martha’s son for quite some time before he died, so his friend took over the quest. Unfortunately, Martha often mistook Arnold’s friend for Arnold himself. You see, she thought Arnold was still alive. So, on the day he phoned you to come and visit her, he didn’t want to upset her by using his real name, so he pretended to be Arnold instead. Arnold had been such a good friend to her. He didn’t see the harm. And it was the same when you visited. He thought, why upset Martha?’
Jake sighed. Another piece of the jigsaw had fallen into place – thank god.
He knew he’d been through the ringer, with what had happened to Eleanor. Jake realised that he must have had some sort of breakdown, convincing himself that she’d died up there. But to think that he’d been talking to a dead person had been the last straw. He’d thought he was losing his mind.
‘By the way, he said his name is Brian, and he gave me a phone number if you want to give him a call. He wants to apologise for the deception. He rather got carried away with his little charade.’
Jake understood. He thought of Marcus, who’d never know he had nearly become an uncle. There were times to spare people the truth. Martha clearly didn’t remember that her good friend, Arnold, was gone. Brian had done the right thing. Jake just wished he’d told him.
Lawrence said, ‘Oh, and he was absolutely delighted to hear you’re going to try and find Martha’s son.’ Lawrence paused. ‘I didn’t know she had a son. There was no mention of that in her notes.’
Jake remembered what Martha had said: if only he’d married me, we could have been a family. Jake guessed she’d been talking about her son’s father. Jake had an idea that she’d given the baby up, and it had been a secret.
After thanking Lawrence, Jake ended the call. He set off once more and headed for Aviemore, anticipating that Gayle would be surprised to see him. He hoped that the additional night in the room he’d originally paid for was still available.
Jake arrived at Gayle’s with three desperate wishes: a bucket of ice for his head, some headache tablets, and a warm bed. He felt so tired.
He was about to get out of the car when his mobile phone rang. He really hoped that Marcus hadn’t missed his flight and was now angling for a lift back to Lark Lodge for the night. He looked at the number, shocked that it was Faye. Marcus had already put in a good word – he hoped.
Jake answered immediately.
‘What’s this about you returning to the Ross Corporation?’
Jake frowned. He’d forgotten to tell Marcus not to share that conversation with Faye. But it had had the desired effect – when he’d told Marcus that she wasn’t returning his calls, he had said, don’t worry. I’ll sort it out. He certainly had. Jake managed a smile as he replied, ‘It’s only for one or two weeks, the summer at most. I’ll be back at school in September. But I have to do it for Marcus.’ He imagined Marcus hadn’t shared the reason.
‘While Marcus is in rehab.’
Jake raised his eyebrows. So he had shared the reason.
‘Yes, so he can get his act together, and we can go and see Eleanor.’ Jake instantly put his hand over his mouth.
‘Go and see Eleanor? What are you talking about?’ He could hear the concern in her voice. He imagined she thought he’d lost his mind, and it wasn’t Marcus that needed to check himself into the clinic for therapy.
Jake sighed. He knew he’d have to tell her some time. He didn’t want to do it over the phone, but it was too late for that now. ‘There’s something I didn’t tell you about the accident last Christmas.’
Faye was quiet on the end of the line.
‘Eleanor survived.’
Jake put his phone down on the dashboard and sat in the car outside Lark Lodge pondering that phone call. He’d told Faye he didn’t want to go into details; not over the phone. They’d talk when he got back the next day. He’d barely got a word in when he heard Natty in the background, haranguing her mum to let her speak to him.
Faye had acquiesced, but not before telling him she missed him terribly and that he’d better be heading back tomorrow.
Jake let out the biggest sigh of relief. He was back in her good books, back in their lives. He couldn’t wait to return. However, his smile faded at the thought of that visit he’d promised he’d make with Marcus when he got out of rehab.
Jake sat for a moment, thinking of The Lake House as he stared at the Cairngorm mountains in the distance. He was reflecting on that conversation with Marcus at the airport. They had come a long way in the last couple of days. It was a huge step, confronting the pain, the loss, and finally deciding to go and see her. Jake couldn’t have done it without Marcus. Marcus was right: they were best friends.
There was just something nagging away at him – a possibility he’d rather not confront: what if Marcus had been telling the truth? What if there had been someone else up there with them on Christmas Day when they’d skied off-piste? But who? And why hadn’t they come forward after the accident?
The more Jake thought about it, the more plausible Marcus’s version of events sounded. Why hadn’t he at least considered the possibility that Marcus was telling the truth? Jake knew the reason; he’d been so wrapped up in his own grief that he’d needed someone to blame.
Marcus. They were best friends, akin to brothers. But he wasn’t Marcus’s brother, and Jake knew in his heart that in an emergency, Marcus would have saved his own blood, his sister, first, if he could.
Jake stared up at the mountains, his eyes drifting down to Lark Lodge. He wasn’t going to find the answers there. As he turned the car around, it dawned on him that he’d made promises he couldn’t keep. He was meant to return to London. He was meant to head up the Ross Corporation, albeit temporarily. He’d promised to return to Faye and Natty. But there were secrets still to uncover, and he knew in his heart where he had to start.