Unexpected Blessings by Barbara Taylor Bradford

her child was safely by her side.
    Gideon Harte sat at his desk in the offices of the Yorkshire Consolidated Newspaper Company, in South East London, not far from the famed Fleet Street of yesteryear. Although the renowned street of ink was still there, many of the great national daily newspapers had moved to quarters elsewhere as the Hartes’ newspaper company had.
    Overlooking a portion of the Thames, Gideon’s office was spacious, light-filled and airy, with lots of plate-glass windows, shaded by silver metal-mesh panels. It was discreetly decorated in shades of white and grey, and there were lots of books banked in low-slung black-lacquered shelves that rode across a long back wall. His black-lacquered desk was empty, the way he liked it, with a few memos in simple black trays, a dictionary, a thesaurus, and antique crystal inkpots on a silver tray.
    Pushing his chair back, Gideon lifted his feet to the desk and leaned back in the chair, watching the large modern clock on the wall straight ahead. Once the hands hit six forty-five he lowered his legs, sat up straight and picked up the phone. He dialled the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills and waited.
    When the operator answered he said, ‘Toby Harte, please.’
    A moment later his brother was saying, ‘Hello? Toby Harte here.’
    ‘It’s me, Toby. Gid. And it’s good news. Jack’s found Mark. He’s admitted he has Adele, and he’s on his way to Pennistone Royal now bringing her back to Tessa.’
    ‘Thank God! What a bastard he is, Gid, taking his own child in that way, and all to get back at poor Tessa. He should be–well, I can’t think of anything quite bad enough to do to that shit!’
    Gid laughed. ‘How about horsewhipped, to use an old-fashioned phrase? Or even better, what about hung, drawn and quartered?’
    Toby also laughed and said, ‘I’ll punch him in the face a few times myself and I’ll be relieved when I know Adele is actually with Tessa at the house. Only then will I relax, I don’t trust that bugger.’
    ‘I agree with you. But I promised to let you know as soon as I had some news, and I just hung up on Jack. Evan had called me a few minutes before, to pass the word for him. But then Jack called himself, wanted to talk to me about security. Not only at Pennistone Royal, which is very vulnerable, as we now know, but all of our homes, and I think he’s right. They should have more protection.’
    ‘Agreed. And Jack’s the right chap to set everything up. By the way, do Paula and Shane know anything yet, Gid?’
    ‘God, no! And don’t get involved. Don’t tell our parents, because you know our mother will pass it on to Paula. They’re as thick as thieves.’
    ‘Well, all of them are. Mother and Dad. Shane and Paula, Sally and Anthony Standish, Amanda. And Sarah, now she’s back in the fold. They grew up together, for God’s sake,’ Toby reminded his brother. ‘We all know about Heron’s Nest, the summers they spent there, now don’t we!’
    ‘Listen to this. Jack told me that one of his operatives found out that a man with a small child was registered at the Spa Hotel in Ripon–your old hunting ground, if you recall. Anyway, the man had registered under the name of William Stone. It meant nothing to Jack’s chap, but the minute Jack heard it he knew it had to be Mark. William Stone equals Jonathan Ainsley. That’s his pseudonym.’
    ‘Oh Christ, you’re right! Was Jonathan involved, do you think?’ Toby wondered out loud.
    ‘I’ve no idea,’ Gideon answered, ‘but it’s crossed Tessa’s mind and Linnet’s, not to mention Jack’s as well, so Evan told me.’
    ‘I see. Paula will have to be told eventually, you know, something like this can’t be shoved under the rug.’
    ‘It couldn’t be anyway, because Tessa’s promised Mark Longden the earth to bring Adele back to her, and she’s going to have to discuss all that with her mother and Shane. It could involve millions, according to Linnet. I guess right now