Letter from a Stranger. Barbara Taylor Bradford

      

      Barbara Taylor Bradford

      Letter From a Stranger

      Copyright

      Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

       1 London Bridge Street

       London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2011

      LETTER FROM A STRANGER. Copyright © Barbara Taylor Bradford 2011. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

      Barbara Taylor Bradford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      ISBN: 9780007304134

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      Ebook Edition © AUGUST 2011 ISBN: 9780007304226

       Version: 2017-11-16

      Dedication

      Again for my husband Bob, and as always

       with my love

      Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright

      Dedication

      Prologue

       Istanbul: April 2004

      Prologue

      The letter, contemplated and worried about for such a long…

      Part One

       The Letter

      One

      The view from the second-floor terrace was panoramic, and breathtaking.

      Two

      Later that afternoon, when Daisy was taking a nap, Justine…

      Three

      The moment they entered Richard’s glass-enclosed studio, Justine sat down…

      Four

      Once Richard had left with Daisy, Justine walked slowly down…

      Five

      ‘You look great,’ Joanne Brandon exclaimed, walking across the worn…

      Six

      Tita brought coffee to the drawing room, and then disappeared.

      Part Two

       The Search

      Seven

      Justine recognized Iffet Özgönül at once. It helped, of course,…

      Eight

      A voice filled the room. A man’s voice. Melodic. Slightly…

      Nine

      They were in the middle of the teeming city in…

      Ten

      The man cut quite a swathe as he walked through…

      Eleven

      Istanbul. City of contrasts. European. Oriental. Exotic, Justine wrote in…

      Twelve

      Several hours later, Justine and Iffet boarded the sleek white…

      Part Three

       The Reunion

      Thirteen

      The driver had turned the boat around, and now it…

      Fourteen

      Justine, who had been frustrated all week, felt frustrated once…

      Fifteen

      The afternoon tea party was a jolly event, and everyone…

      Sixteen

      Michael Dalton was sitting on the terrace of the Çiragan…

      Seventeen

      The moment they were alone, Gabriele took hold of Justine’s…

      Eighteen

      It was a beautiful night, the midnight-blue sky sprinkled with…

      Nineteen

      ‘And that, Richard, is Gran’s story of the estrangement, and…

      Part Four

       Coup de Foudre

      Twenty

      Michael sat down next to Justine on the garden seat,…

      Twenty-One

      ‘This is the most beautiful fabric,’ Justine said, looking at…

      Twenty-Two

      Michael was waiting for her at the jetty as they…

      Twenty-Three

      Sitting back, Justine stared at herself in the mirror and…

      Twenty-Four

      It was one o’clock in the morning when Michael and…

      Twenty-Five

      They lay together side by side, catching their breath, both…

      Part Five

       The Mystery

      Twenty-Six

      Gabriele was, by nature, an early riser, and on this…

      Twenty-Seven

      Anita and Gabriele saw them off at the jetty, waving…

      Twenty-Eight

      Anita was sitting on Gabriele’s terrace, studying a floor plan,…

      Twenty-Nine

      The three women walked across the terrace and into Gabriele’s…

      Thirty

      After Anita had retreated to her own yali to rest,…

      Thirty-One

      Later that afternoon, Justine went out to the gardens to…

      Thirty-Two

      Once they had finished tea, which had been a bit…

      Thirty-Three

      The following afternoon, once Gabriele was ready to leave for…

      Thirty-Four

      Justine remained on the bed, trying to rest. Exhausted from…

      Thirty-Five

      Justine was about to pick up her grandmother’s book when…

      Thirty-Six

      The moment Justine walked into the bedroom she picked up…

      Thirty-Seven

      ‘So tell me,’ Michael said, when Justine remained silent at…

      Thirty-Eight

      After