‘You’re not a pain,’ Maddie says. ‘In fact, you’re amazing. My favourite man in the world.’ She kisses his cheek.

We sit down either side of him. The sun reflecting off the sheer expanse of white hurts my eyes. Eventually, Maddie gets up and heads for the sledges.

‘Do you miss, Mum, Thomas?’ I say, while I’ve got his attention. He was never an open boy, not one to rake over his life or show his true feelings, often brushing them away with humour, or quotes from Shakespeare. When he returned from America following his accident, he folded into himself. But once Maddie arrived he began making joke after joke about his situation. Even now, none of us know how he really felt – still feels – about cutting his life in the US short. How he really feels about losing the ability to walk. ‘And Lark, do you miss her?’ I go on. ‘Do you wonder where she is?’

‘Of course I miss Mum and Lark,’ he says. ‘But life goes on, doesn’t it? It has to.’

‘Bit harsh,’ I say, clapping my hands together to free the clumps of snow from my woollen gloves, as Maddie approaches, dragging the sledges behind her.

‘I have to be,’ he continues. ‘If I wasn’t, I would never get up in the morning.’ His nose and cheeks are pink on his pallid face, and the furry lapels of his hat hang down over his ears. His brown eyes are bloodshot. ‘That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t give anything to see them again. But I know it’s never going to happen. Mum’s dead, Amelia. And however much Dad thinks coming here will trigger something that will lead to us finding Lark – and despite supporting him in every way I possibly can – I don’t believe we’ll ever find her. We have to get on with our lives, sis, or we might as well be dead too.’

‘Wow!’ I say, now picking snow from my gloves. ‘You’ve really thought this through.’

Finn approaches, roaring across the snow towards us on his quad bike.

‘Here comes our hero,’ Maddie says with a giggle.

‘Gosh, that was quick,’ I say, getting to my feet, as Finn cuts the engine.

‘Yeah, this old thing can go pretty fast downhill,’ he says, turning to Thomas. ‘Let’s get you on the back, mate, before you freeze to death.’ He lifts my brother from the bench, and onto the bike. ‘You guys need to follow the track back towards the ruin. But be careful as you go; keep on the pathway. The drop is lethal.’ He climbs on the bike, and Thomas grips his waist.

‘Before you go,’ I say, ‘do you know who Kyla is?’ I point at the inscription on the bench.