Unexpected Blessings. Barbara Taylor Bradford

a pale yellow background. The Aubusson rug underfoot was obviously rare, a valuable antique, as were the pieces of furniture made of mellow, ripe woods. Linnet had also explained that over the years the room had never changed in its decor; it was simply refurbished with the same fabrics and colours for a sense of continuity and as a reflection of Emma’s great taste.

      Evan loved art and she was particularly interested in English landscapes, and for a moment her gaze rested on the museum-quality Turner hanging on a side wall, then it swung to the oil painting above the mantelpiece. This was of Paul McGill, the love of Emma’s life; he was wearing an army officer’s uniform and it had apparently been painted in the First World War. What a handsome man he was, she thought. No wonder Emma had succumbed to his charms.

      ‘Evan, let’s go down to the kitchen and rustle up a pot of tea,’ Linnet said. ‘And Margaret will make us some smoked salmon sandwiches. I’m starved. I didn’t have lunch.’

      Evan sat up with a start, brought out of her reverie by Linnet’s voice. ‘Okay!’ she answered at once, jumping up, moving across the floor swiftly, hating to be caught offguard in this way.

      ‘What about you, Tessa?’ Linnet asked.

      ‘I couldn’t eat a thing! Food would choke me!’ she cried, shaking her head almost violently.

      ‘India? Do you want something, darling?’ Linnet’s auburn brow lifted questioningly.

      Her cousin nodded. ‘Tea with lemon would be nice, and so would a smoked salmon sandwich. Thanks.’

      ‘I thought you’d had lunch,’ Linnet murmured, and then stopped short. ‘Oh, but you never finished it, did you? Instead you drove here.’ Linnet stared hard at India but her face was quite expressionless.

      ‘That’s correct,’ India responded evenly, her own face as blank as her cousin’s. But she couldn’t help wondering if Linnet had guessed she had been with Dusty at lunchtime. No matter; Linnet was always on her side whatever she did.

      Jack Figg was seated at the large Georgian desk in the panelled library, his eyes on the papers spread out in front of him.

      After a moment he lifted his eyes and looked across at Linnet, who was seated on the sofa with Tessa. She was grim and intent, but holding her own as he knew she would. It was Tessa he was worried about.

      She looked as though she would pass out at any moment; her face was stark, chalky, her eyes swollen and red-rimmed from weeping. He fully understood how anguished and worried she was, and his heart went out to her. Apart from being a kind and compassionate man, he had once lost a child to death and his grief had been searing, a sorrow he could not endure. Now he prayed that Adele was alive. Instinctively he felt that she was, and he wanted more than anything else to trust in those instincts. God damn it, she has to be alive, he thought, willing it to be so.

      Seated on the other sofa near the fireplace were India Standish, whom he had known since she was a child, and Evan Hughes, the newcomer to the family, recently-discovered, and another great-granddaughter of Emma. He could see the concern on their faces as well, and he knew that all of these four young women had been waiting for hours to get an update on the situation from him.

      So had young Emsie and Desmond, who had rushed after him when he had traversed the estate with Wiggs and Joe earlier. They were now sitting on the upholstered library fender, obviously being extremely careful about opening their mouths. He had warned them that if they wanted to stay in the library they had to remain totally quiet. ‘Not one word,’ he had cautioned and they had nodded their agreement.

      Without preamble he began to speak, addressing himself to Linnet and Tessa who sat together. ‘It’s turning four-thirty, and it’s just over five and a half hours since Adele disappeared.’ He paused, his eyes sweeping over them, then he went on: ‘I’m afraid I don’t know where she is. But I do know where she isn’t, and that’s here at Pennistone Royal. She’s not in the fields, the meadows, the woods or the gardens, which have all been thoroughly scoured. And I’ve even had Wiggs drag the pond. Fortunately, all he found were weeds. Nor has Adele been seen in Pennistone Royal village, although two or three people did notice a black Mercedes driving through at high speed around lunchtime. That’s obviously the same car which was seen here in the drive by Wiggs and the stable lads.’

      ‘What about Mark? What about Mark?’ Tessa cried excitedly, repeating herself, and clutching the rag doll to her, as she had done on and off during the day. ‘Have you tried to find him?’

      ‘I have indeed,’ Jack responded softly. ‘I spoke to his secretary who told me he had taken a few days off –’

      ‘He came up here to grab Adele!’ Tessa interrupted, her voice rising. ‘I bet anything he’s in Yorkshire. With Jonathan Ainsley. They’re in this together.’ She looked agitated, and her eyes flared.

      ‘He could be up here, of course,’ Jack said, ‘but he’s certainly not with Jonathan Ainsley. I’ve had one of my people check Jonathan’s whereabouts and he’s in Hong Kong at this very moment. And he’s been there for several weeks.’

      ‘Perhaps Mark took Adele back to London with him, if he grabbed her,’ Linnet ventured, giving Jack a long, hard stare.

      ‘He’s not in his apartment nor is he at the house in Hampstead. Both places have been checked out.’

      ‘But the house is locked up –’ Tessa began, and then her voice faltered when she saw the irritated expression flashing across Jack’s face.

      ‘Yes, the house is locked up, Tessa, and so is Mark’s apartment. But we do have our ways of checking things out.’

      ‘I understand,’ she said meekly, leaning back against the sofa, ignoring Linnet who had poked her in the ribs a moment ago, warning her to shut up, she had no doubt.

      ‘I’ve phoned Mark’s mother in Gloucestershire,’ Jack continued. ‘She was not at home, but was expected early this evening, according to someone called Dory.’

      ‘Dory’s the housekeeper,’ Tessa volunteered. She cleared her throat and went on somewhat tentatively, ‘Mrs Longden’s a bit of a doting mother, but she’s a decent woman. If Mark took Adele to her home she would insist he brought her back to me at once.’

      ‘If his mother knew he had Adele without your permission,’ Jack pointed out. ‘Mark might not tell her. Anyway, I think that in all probability he’s somewhere in Yorkshire. We must find him.’

      ‘But how?’ India asked, frowning. ‘It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, isn’t it?’

      ‘Only too true,’ Jack agreed. ‘It’s not going to be easy, even if we go to the police. We may have to do that, and soon. I’ve spoken at length to Gideon, I told him we might need to blast the news of Adele’s abduction all over the media, starting with the Harte television network and the Harte newspapers. Gideon agrees with me. But we’re not going to do that just yet. Before we go to those lengths, or go to the police, I want to give Mark a chance to bring Adele home to you, Tessa. Tonight, if that’s at all possible.’

      ‘But what if it’s not Mark who grabbed her?’ Tessa asked, sounding suddenly tremulous again. ‘What if it’s a kidnapping?’

      ‘We’d have had a ransom note or some kind of communication from the kidnappers before now if that were the case,’ Jack explained. ‘By the way, Tessa, at my request Gideon spoke to Toby in Los Angeles this afternoon. Toby hasn’t been trying to get hold of you today. So I’m positive it was Mark calling you this morning in an effort to distract you while he took Adele. Or it was someone else, someone who was helping him, working with him.’

      ‘I didn’t really recognize the voice,’ Tessa replied. ‘Although it did sound familiar, I suppose that’s why I thought it must be Toby.’

      Leaning forward in the chair, his arms resting on the desk, Jack was thoughtful for a moment before saying, ‘In a short while I shall phone Mark’s mother, explain what’s happened.