His smile is grim. ‘Mum annoyed me at times, but I’d never—’

‘Of course you wouldn’t.’ Julia takes his hand. ‘You’re the kindest person I know.’

We head through the door, and the cold takes my breath away. I look towards the summerhouse in the garden, desperate to see inside.

‘I’ve already checked in there, love,’ Dad says, seeing where I’m looking. He puts his arm around my shoulders. ‘Let’s get back, shall we? Before we all freeze to death.’

Chapter 35

A Year Ago

Amelia

Amelia broke free from the family as they made their way towards the conservatory for breakfast, making a detour towards the car park. And she knew as soon as she stepped onto the cobbled area that Jackson’s car was missing. The only cars were Rosamund’s Mercedes, and Dad’s Ford Freedom. Jackson had gone. Had he taken Lark with him?

Her heart thumped as she ran to the conservatory.

‘Jackson’s car’s not there,’ she cried, breathless as she entered to see everyone taking a seat at the table.

‘Oh God,’ her mum said. ‘Where could he have gone?’

‘The thing is,’ Amelia continued, ‘I saw a car leave in the middle of the night. I thought it was a visitor leaving, but now I’m thinking it must have been Jackson. Do you think Lark’s with him?’

Her mum shook her head. ‘I’m sure Jackson leaving has nothing to do with Lark.’ She was close to tears. ‘Lark has probably wandered off somewhere, like before. It’s a coincidence that’s all. Let’s just concentrate on finding Lark.’

The door swung open, and Rosamund, Neil and Elise entered. ‘What’s wrong?’ Rosamund said. ‘You all look as though you’ve seen a ghost.’

‘Lark and Jackson have disappeared,’ Amelia said.

‘Have you seen Jackson, Rosamund?’ her mum said, her tone suddenly cold as she met Rosamund’s eye.

‘No, why?’ Rosamund folded her arms, averted her eyes.

‘Well I still think we need to get help,’ Amelia said.

‘I agree,’ her dad said. ‘I’ll call the police.’ And as he pulled his phone from his pocket, Amelia’s neck prickled.

Something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

Chapter 36

Present Day

Amelia

It feels like hours since we left Finn and Julia at the farmhouse, and by the time the cottages are back in view we can barely see in front of us for heavy snowfall.

It’s 2 p.m. when Dad, Rosamund and I step through the door of Bluebell Cottage, and once again I feel as though my feet and fingers no longer belong to me, they’re so numb.

Inside, Dad leads the way into the lounge, where we shed our wet outer layers, and hurry towards the burner to get warm.