‘Well, in some ways you are.’
Please stop, Mum! You sound far too needy. It was like she was trying to impress the most popular girl at school.
The man and teenage girl approached carrying holdalls, both smiling.
‘Ah, this is my husband – Neil,’ Rosamund said. ‘And my daughter – Elise.’
‘Stepdaughter,’ Elise snapped.
Neil put his arm around Rosamund’s waist. She stood taller than him, and although his stance gave off a confident, self-assured vibe, there was something jittery about him under the surface. He pushed back his neat brown hair with his fingers. ‘It’s good to put a face to the courageous woman Rosamund talks so much about.’
Amelia sucked in a sigh, and turned to the teenage girl with her nose in a phone with a glittery pink “E” on the case. ‘The signal’s bad up here,’ the girl said, shoving it in her pocket.
‘It’s erratic,’ Amelia agreed. And while she had her attention added, ‘I’ve got a sister about your age. She’s here, so maybe you two could team up. Have some fun. At least you won’t be bored.’
‘Does she like Monopoly?’
‘Maybe. Well, she used to.’
Elise shrugged. ‘No big deal if she doesn’t. I rarely get bored anyway.’ Her fringe was pinned back from her forehead with clips, revealing a rash of tiny freckles across her otherwise pale face and turned-up nose. She tucked her fair, collar-length hair behind her ears. ‘I like to read,’ she said. She was well spoken, but sharp. ‘I’ve brought some books to study.’ She looked up at her father, with her bright blue eyes, and smiled. ‘I hate taking time out of school, but as long as I make use of my time here wisely, it should be OK.’
‘Elise is a good girl,’ Neil said, ruffling her hair, and she giggled, looking up at him once more.
The girl was different to Lark, younger by a year or so – sixteen probably – and clearly a lover of pink, if her padded jacket was anything to go by. Amelia wasn’t sure they would get on anyway; Elise was still a child, Lark a young woman.
‘You can pick up your keys from reception, Rosamund,’ Amelia said. Turning, she pointed to Primrose Cottage at the far end of the site, and backing onto the forest. ‘And that’s where you’ll be staying.’
‘Beautiful,’ Rosamund said. ‘I can’t wait to spend time with you all. Is Jackson here?’ She glanced about her.
‘Taking a shower,’ Caroline said. ‘We’re all going down to the beach later for a picnic. I know it’s November, but the sun’s out. I thought it might be nice.’
‘Sounds perfect.’ Rosamund looked at Neil and Elise. ‘Right, let’s get our keys, shall we?’
Chapter 19
A Year Ago
Amelia
‘Finally,’ Amelia whispered, her eyes scanning William’s brief message that had just appeared on her phone screen.
All good here! Cat fine! See you when you get back!
‘You OK, love?’ her dad said, as she shoved her phone into her pocket.
‘Fine,’ she said, but felt far from it.
She was snuggled into her thick Aran sweater and jeans. Despite the sun beaming down from a pastel-blue sky onto the golden sand, it was nowhere near warm enough to be sitting on a deserted stretch of beach in the Scottish Highlands.
Rosamund had opened the hamper Ruth had made, and laid out a homemade quiche, bread rolls filled with ham and cheese, and two flasks of tea, onto a tartan blanket, but so far nobody had eaten anything. It all felt too forced.
Amelia had dropped down onto the sand a few feet away from everyone else ten minutes ago, and was now attempting to build a castle with a tablespoon. Her mum seemed happy, despite the chill in the air, sitting in her deckchair facing the sea, a blanket covering her knees. She was flanked by Jackson and Rosamund, and Amelia tried hard to give the impression she didn’t mind them hogging her mum, but the truth was she did, and it was clear Lark was bothered too. In fact, she’d drifted away from the gathering and was now down by the shoreline, her back to them as she kicked sand, seeming deep in thought.
Everyone but Thomas and Maddie were there. Thomas had cried off, saying he had a headache, and Amelia wondered if he was finding all of this harder than he was letting on.
‘I’m sure I just saw a bottlenose dolphin,’ her dad said suddenly excited, binoculars pinned to his eyes. Neil, who sat beside him reading from his phone, glanced up, squinted towards the sea, and then looked back at his screen.
Elise was leaning against the rocks a short distance away from the group, reading from her Kindle. She was wearing a pink pom-pom hat pulled low, with her pink padded jacket, jeans, and spotted wellingtons.
Lark turned towards them and raised her hand. ‘I’m going for a walk, Mum,’ she called. She seemed to be struggling more than ever since Rosamund and her family arrived.
Amelia watched her sister meander along the beach, tall and willowy in her flowing black dress, and jacket, the breeze catching her blonde hair. She wanted to go after her, tell her everything would be OK. But it was hard to leave, and in truth she wasn’t sure everything would be OK, and eventually Lark was out of sight.
‘That’s pretty good.’ It was Elise, by Amelia’s side, admiring her attempts at building a sandcastle.
‘I thought I might add a moat,’ Amelia said, drawing a circle around her castle with her gloved finger. ‘But I need water, and I didn’t bring a bucket.’
Elise laughed, and rummaged in her rucksack. ‘Here,’ she said, brandishing a large empty water bottle.
‘Right, let’s get some water then.’ Amelia rose, brushed sand from her jeans, and followed Elise towards the sea.
Once at the water’s edge, Elise bent and scooped water into the bottle. ‘This could take a while,’ she said, as a frothy wave covered her wellington boots. ‘So, what do you think of Drummondale House?’ She
