Jonathan Ainsley crept into her mind, and she grimaced. From what she had learned lately, it appeared that Mark Longden was under his influence. How terrible that such a thing had happened. Could Jonathan be pulling the strings, was he the mastermind behind Adele’s abduction? If that was what it was. She had no answers for herself.
Linnet sat with Tessa in the upstairs parlour at Pennistone Royal, talking to her quietly, trying to reassure her that Adele was all right, that she would soon be home, silently praying that she was correct in this assertion, and that her assurances would not prove to be meaningless.
Evan was with them, seated near the lovely oriel window, but she was an observer rather than a participant at this moment, knowing it was best to let Linnet handle everything. Tessa could be touchy, even a little caustic, at the best of times, and today was the worst.
‘Mark would never do anything to upset or hurt Adele,’ Linnet said, touching her sister’s hand, then taking it in hers. ‘He does adore her, you know, that’s always been most apparent.’
‘Yes,’ Tessa responded, ‘but what if it’s not Mark who has her? Perhaps Desmond was right when he suggested it might well be a kidnapping for ransom. She could easily be with strangers, and therefore in danger.’
‘I really do doubt that,’ Linnet answered in a stronger tone, wishing her younger brother had not voiced this opinion. It was a possibility but he would have been wiser to have kept it to himself. ‘And you must trust Jack Figg. He’s the best and the smartest private investigator there is, Mummy’s said that for years and she’s always relied on him in a crisis. And don’t forget, he was head of Harte’s security for years.’
‘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