Unexpected Blessings by Barbara Taylor Bradford Read Free Book Online

over there later. She dialled her cousin, and waited patiently as the mobile rang and rang.

C HAPTER T HREE
    ‘T hat’s your phone ringing, not mine,’ Russell ‘Dusty’ Rhodes said, looking across at India, who stood next to the window.
    She frowned, glancing around the bedroom, exclaiming, ‘Heavens, where’s my bag?’
    ‘Over there, on the chair. Under your dress.’
    ‘Oh gosh, yes, you’re right.’ As she spoke she ran to the chair, clutching the towel around her body; with her other hand she grabbed the bag, groped inside for the ringing mobile phone, turned it on, held it to her ear. ‘Hello?’
    ‘India?’
    ‘Hi Linnet.’
    ‘Where are you? At the Leeds store already?’ ‘No. I stopped in for a few minutes, then went to…lunch.’
    Dusty grinned at her from the other side of the room and began to laugh.
    She glared at him and silently mouthed, ‘Be quiet.’
    Linnet said, ‘India, there’s a problem. Adele’s disappeared. Several hours ago, and Tessa’s frantic.’
    ‘Oh my God!’ Alarm registered in India’s eyes and she sat down heavily in the chair, concentrating on the phone call.
    ‘She could be lost in the grounds, might have just wandered off,’ Linnet went on, ‘but somehow I doubt that. Personally, I think Mark Longden snatched her, and so does Tessa.’
    ‘Yes, I agree. But surely he wouldn’t hurt her–’
    ‘True,’ Linnet interrupted, ‘but things sometimes do go wrong, so we’ve got to find her before anything untoward does happen. I’ve brought Jack Figg in to help, and there’s a search party looking for her at Pennistone Royal. I should be there myself in half an hour.’
    ‘Perhaps I’d better come too.’
    ‘You might as well finish lunch, India. There’s not a lot you can do except be there for Tessa. Obviously, she’s very upset.’
    ‘I can well imagine.’ There was a slight hesitation on India’s part, and then she asked worriedly, ‘You don’t think Jonathan Ainsley has anything to do with this, do you?’
    ‘I sincerely hope not, but if he does it really changes the picture.’
    ‘Yes, you’re right. But what do you–’
    ‘Let’s not go there, India. At least not yet. I’ll see you later.’
    ‘I’ll leave shortly.’ India clicked off the phone and put it back in her bag. Her face was paler than ever, her eyes anxious.
    ‘What’s happened?’ Dusty asked, sitting up straighter in the bed, looking at her alertly. ‘You sounded frightened. No, not frightened, you’re not frightened of anything, are you? Concerned is possibly a better word. Or alarmed.’
    India stared back at him, nodding. ‘I am a bit alarmed, yes. Adele, Tessa’s little girl, has vanished and Linnet says it could be Mark Longden’s doing.’
    ‘That’s bad. What do you think?’
    ‘I tend to agree. Mark’s not very nice, and it’s more than likely he took her.’
    ‘She’s not lost somewhere on that vast estate perhaps?’
    ‘It’s possible, I suppose. But I think she would’ve been found by now. She’s still a toddler. How far could she get? Linnet says it’s several hours since she went missing, and there’s a search party out.’
    ‘Why would he take her? Stupid question, Rhodes,’ he answered himself, shaking his head. ‘As a weapon in the divorce…he’s using her against your cousin, using her in order to manipulate Tessa.’ He ran a hand through his black wavy hair and a look of contempt crossed his face. ‘People. What shits they are, how they disgust me. He’s a real bastard if he’s using his child in that way.’
    India sighed, stood up, reached for her clothes.
    ‘You can be there in less than an hour, so come back to bed.’ Dusty’s voice was lower, suddenly tender, and he smiled at her seductively. She noticed yet again how white his teeth were against the tan of his face. ‘Come back to bed with me, let’s do it all again,’ he insisted.
    India shook her head. ‘I do think I have to go, Dusty,’ she answered, but