Unexpected Blessings (9 page)

‘But he’s been retired for some time now,’ Tessa pointed out, a sudden shrillness in her voice.

‘Semi-retired, to be exact. He still works full time for those who need him, such as former clients he’s remained close to, like us. Anyway, you know very well our mother put him on a retainer and used him to do that in-depth check on Mark Longden several weeks ago. She filled us in before she went off to New York.’

‘Yes–’ Tessa’s voice suddenly broke and tears welled in her eyes again. She wiped them quickly with a tissue and continued shakily, ‘I’m so worried about Adele I can hardly bear it. She’s such a little girl and she must be so scared, even if she is with her father. I mean, being snatched off the terrace in such an awful way will have frightened her. I feel so helpless, I don’t know what to do.’

‘Listen to me,’ Linnet said in her firmest, most confident voice, ‘we don’t know
how
she was taken, whether it was awful or not. Actually, I’m sure it wasn’t.’ Hoping to calm Tessa, she went on talking. ‘I’m sure Mark made it seem like a game to Adele, you know, waving to her, putting his finger to his lips so she would be quiet, smiling at her, beckoning. Yes, I’m quite certain that’s what he did. It’s obvious he wouldn’t want to alarm her, frighten her. He knew he mustn’t upset her since he was taking her without your permission. She would’ve made quite a racket, I think, if he’d just rushed in and grabbed her.’

‘You seem so certain it
is
Mark. Like me.’ Tessa gave Linnet a hard stare and her eyes narrowed slightly. ‘I just hope to God we’re right. What is Jack Figg actually
doing
right now?’

‘He’s working in the library, on the phone a lot, talking to people, mostly his operatives, I believe. I never question his methods and neither should you. Let it suffice for me to say that he has contacts everywhere in the world and in all walks of life. If anybody can find Adele, it’s Jack, believe me it is.’

Glancing across at Evan, Tessa said slowly,
‘You
had lunch with Uncle Robin at Lackland Priory today. Did he mention Jonathan Ainsley? Where he was living these days?’

Evan tensed. Tessa had sounded almost accusatory, but she kept her voice level as she answered calmly, ‘No, he didn’t mention Jonathan. I’m sorry, Tessa, I don’t know anything about him. But he’s more than likely out of the country. In Hong Kong. Robin would have told me if Jonathan were in England…you see he would have warned me. I know Robin worries a lot about Jonathan doing me harm out of spite.’

‘And all of
us,
too, for that matter!’ Linnet exclaimed, her green eyes flashing. ‘He’s had it in for Mummy and her offspring for ages. In fact, I think he has it in for every one of the Hartes. He’d like to mow us all down with a machine gun and be rid of us once and for all. And all because he feels cheated by Emma Harte. He’s a nasty piece of work, but Mums says he always was.’

‘That’s true,’ Tessa agreed. ‘And to think Mark let himself fall into his clutches.’ Tessa sat back on the sofa, twisting the tissue in her hands, her face ringed with misery. At this precise moment she fervently wished she had never married Mark Longden. All he had ever done really was to create a ton of misery for her, not to mention the verbal and physical abuse he had meted out lately. Now he had stolen their child.

Suddenly the door flew open and India came into the upstairs parlour almost at a run. ‘Hi, everybody,’ she said and then made a bee-line for her cousin Tessa; she knelt down next to her and took hold of her hand. ‘I’m so sorry this happened,’ India murmured, looking at Tessa intently, wanting to convey her enormous sympathy and concern. Her face was full of compassion, her eyes warm and loving. ‘I’m here for you, whatever you need. You only have to ask.’

Tessa nodded, attempted a smile. It faltered instantly, but she managed to say, ‘Thanks, India, I’m glad you’re here.’

Watching India commiserate with Tessa, Evan couldn’t help thinking how very much alike they looked, like sisters actually, as if turned out from the same mould. It was apparent they were closely related; both had silver-gilt hair and silvery-grey luminous eyes, pale complexions and delicately-wrought faces. They were lovely looking in a soft, feminine way, and she knew their striking resemblance to each other came from their genes, their shared Fairley bloodline.

Evan had also heard the family legend that their great-great-grandmother Adele Fairley had been a famous beauty–stunning, elegant, aristocratic, and possibly slightly mad. And that it was from her that these two had inherited their unique silver-blonde hair and extraordinary eyes, as well as their angelic faces. Even little Adele had the same looks. She was part Fairley, and to Evan she did not appear to be anything at all like a Harte. The thought of the missing child made her shrivel inside, and she felt a sudden chill sweep over her. Involuntarily, she shivered. What if Adele were in some kind of danger? Everyone had mentioned Mark, or a kidnapper looking for money, but hadn’t anyone thought of a paedophile?

Immediately Evan shoved that thought aside, it was too awful to contemplate. She glanced across at Linnet, who was a true Harte with her halo of red hair, green eyes and dynamic personality. Gideon had the same Harte colouring and upbeat attitude. Evan couldn’t help but admire Linnet this afternoon. She had taken charge in a quiet but confident way and was handling everything with true diplomacy and efficiency. Not only did she convey great positiveness, she had managed somehow to keep Tessa calm. Evan knew how much the latter was suffering; furthermore, Tessa was at a loss, had no idea what to do, which was so unlike her.

Linnet’s cell phone began to ring and she got up, walked over to one of the tall windows, stood talking for a moment, and Evan knew it was Julian on the other end. Linnet had asked her to be a bridesmaid at her marriage to Julian in the winter, and she had been thrilled to accept. Gideon was to be best man and India the other bridesmaid.

Her eyes wandered around the upstairs parlour…Linnet had once explained to her that this had been Emma Harte’s favourite room, and she understood the reasons why. It was lovely, gracious, charming, and spacious, with a high ceiling and tall leaded windows. There was a carved mantel over the fireplace and the walls were a sunny daffodil colour. Two large comfortable sofas were covered in a floral chintz fabric vibrant with scarlet and blues, greens and pinks on 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. Hopefully she will cooperate, if she knows anything, that is. But if we don’t have anything new or know where Mark is by about six-thirty, then I’ll have no alternative but to inform the North Yorkshire police. I will also call Gideon to tell him to go ahead and issue a news bulletin about Adele’s disappearance. I can’t leave it much longer than that, I simply can’t take that chance.’