Emma’s Secret. Barbara Taylor Bradford

Hughes is with you.’

      ‘Correct.’

      ‘Jennifer says her papers are good.’

      ‘That’s right.’

      ‘I’m looking for an assistant. Would she fit the bill? Is she worth seeing?’

      ‘I don’t know.’

      ‘Oh, well, once you’ve finished your interview, I’d appreciate it if you would bring her along to my office. I’d like to talk to her myself.’

      ‘No problem,’ Maggie said. ‘See you shortly.’

      ‘I’ll be waiting,’ Linnet replied and hung up. Looking across at Gideon, she remarked, ‘Apparently your Miss Hughes has made a reasonable impression.’

      ‘She’s not my Miss Hughes. She’s not even an acquaintance.’

      Linnet nodded. ‘Don’t be so snarly, Gid. I’m teasing.’

      ‘I’m not being snarly. Merely factual.’ He smiled at her; his expression was loving.

      She stared back at him, also smiling, thinking how well he looked today in his impeccably-tailored Savile Row suit, dark grey with a white pinstripe, pale blue shirt, and a silk tie. There were moments, like now when he was looking serious and intent, that he reminded her of his father, Winston. The Harte looks were predominant in them both, except that Uncle Winston’s vivid colouring had begun to fade. Gideon’s hair was a rich russet colour, his eyes light green, and he had clean, sharply defined features.

      She and Gideon looked a lot like each other, and strangers often thought they were brother and sister. Certainly their relationship was very close, and had been since they were small. But then their parents were cousins and best friends, in each other’s company constantly, and in consequence as children they had been thrown together a lot, along with his brother Toby, and Tessa and Lorne. Her other siblings were not yet born at that time.

      At the thought of Toby, Linnet winced. He was not one of her favourites in the family, and she had always believed he was her enemy. He had been forever allied with Tessa, one of her half-sister’s sycophants, constantly paying court and drooling all over her, which Tessa blatantly encouraged. Perhaps now that he was a married man things had changed somewhat, although she doubted it.

      ‘Penny for your thoughts,’ Gideon said, breaking the silence.

      ‘I was thinking how smart you looked today. Very dashing, actually.’

      ‘Thanks for those kind words, my pet.’

      ‘And then Toby jumped into my head … What’s he up to at the moment? He’s been awfully quiet of late, wouldn’t you say?’

      ‘Yes, he has. But he’s very busy with work; he’s got a hugely demanding job, as a matter of fact. I know he’s not your favourite, Linny, and sometimes I have problems with him myself – always did, as you know only too well. Still, I’ve got to say he’s good at what he does. Brilliant. He loves working in television, and Dad’s pleased with the way he’s been managing the television company. None of us can possibly fault him there, you know.’ Gideon shifted in the chair slightly, and continued, ‘And of course, he’s a newly wed … I suppose he’s rather preoccupied with his bride.’

      ‘You’re right …’ Linnet paused, threw him a direct look, her head on one side. ‘Do you like Adrianna Massingham, Gid?’

      ‘She’s all right. Not my type, but that doesn’t mean anything really. Even though her appearance is very contrived – it’s all that make-up, I guess – she’s still a beautiful young woman, and pleasant enough, I suppose—’ He cut his sentence off abruptly, and sat back in the chair, looking thoughtful, his face growing more serious than usual.

      ‘But what? There’s definitely a but here,’ Linnet asserted.

      ‘True. Look, to be honest, I’m not sure that the marriage will weather the storms that are bound to erupt. Toby’s not easy, we know that, and he wants kids, wants to start a family, whilst Adrianna doesn’t, is very intent on pursuing her acting career. Everyone’s aware of that at home, especially my mother. No children for Adrianna, at least not right now. Maybe her attitude will change in time. What does Tessa think? Whoops, that’s a stupid question!’ he exclaimed. ‘Of course you don’t know what she thinks, because she never confides in you.’

      ‘No, she doesn’t, she never did. However, I suspect her nose is out of joint because he got married.’

      ‘But she’s married herself!’

      ‘Tessa’s a bit odd, Gid. She’s always thought of Toby as her property, from when we were kids growing up together. Have you forgotten that?’

      ‘Not really, but I was certain she’d outgrown her possessiveness.’

      Shaking his head, merriment filling his eyes all of a sudden, he began to chuckle.

      ‘Why are you laughing?’

      ‘Don’t you remember, when we were kids I always told you that Tessa had what I used to call ETS.’

      Her auburn eyebrows drawing together in puzzlement, Linnet said, ‘I must’ve forgotten. What does it mean, ETS?’

      ‘ETS means Elizabeth Tudor Syndrome, something I dreamt up. Our famous greatest monarch forever clung to her favourite men, even when she replaced them with new favourite men.’

      ‘Except for Lord Robert Dudley. She never ever replaced him in her affections,’ Linnet responded, staring at her cousin pointedly. ‘And you were the one who told me that.’

      ‘Of course I did, come to think of it. Yes indeed, her Robin Two Eyes, as she called him, was always special. She promoted him to be her Master of the Horse, elevated him to the peerage by making him the Earl of Leicester, and he was her only true love. Actually, he was her one true favourite for her entire lifetime, even after he was dead.’

      ‘And Elizabeth was his one true love, don’t you think?’ Linnet murmured.

      ‘I do. Even though he did carry on a bit with some of her court ladies – had sexual liaisons, because men will be men you know – it was only Elizabeth he ever truly loved. He may have married Lettice Knollys, but it was his queen he loved and most devotedly.’

      ‘Funny, isn’t it, when you consider that it was Lettice Knollys’ son, Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, who became a favourite of the queen’s many years later; then he betrayed her most horribly and lost his head on the block for treason.’

      ‘Very ironic, I’d say,’ Gideon agreed. ‘And even stranger that it all played out within the one family so to speak. Sort of incestuous.’

      ‘Just like us, all muddled up together and the other two clans thrown into the mix for good measure,’ Linnet pointed out. ‘Anyway, I’d forgotten about ETS. Preoccupation with work.’ A sudden thought occurred to her, and leaning forward, she exclaimed, ‘Gideon, you said your Miss Hughes was an American. So how could I employ her immediately? A work permit has suddenly loomed large in my mind. Oh God, all that red tape to go through!’ she groaned.

      ‘Not necessary, my pet. I should have mentioned that she was born in London, has a British passport and dual nationality. No work permit required.’

      ‘That’s good to know, and I must say, you certainly found out a lot about her in only a few minutes.’

      He grinned. ‘You are now in possession of the sum total of every blessed thing I know about Miss Evan Hughes.’

CHAPTER EIGHT

      Two things were instantly apparent to Linnet, after Maggie Hemmings had introduced Evan Hughes and then left her office.

      Firstly,