CHAPTER ONE
Evan Hughes stood in the middle of the fashion floor of
Harte's department store in London's Knightsbridge. It was
seven o'clock in the morning, and nothing stirred. By
eight the cleaners would be moving around this vast space,
and by nine a few of the dedicated sales staff would be
arriving to prepare for the store doors opening at ten.
Now, though, she was totally alone.
She loved this store and this floor in particular. It was
her domain. And hers alone. Last week she had been made
head of fashion, a big promotion which had thrilled her.
But in her personal life, Evan had big decisions to make.
As she moved slowly across the floor, making for the new
haute couture fashion displays, she couldn't help thinking
about the first day she had walked into Harte's. January
2001. Eight months ago now. She had been very lucky that
day. Quite by chance she had met the man of her dreams and
found the job of her dreams. She had certainly never
thought her dreams would come true that day. But in some
ways, they did.
Pausing for a moment, Evan glanced around, her
intelligent, light gray-blue eyes devouring everything:
the fashion displays under bright lights, the elegance of
the whole floor, such an important one in this prestigious
department store, considered the greatest in theworld.
Harte's of Knightsbridge had been founded by one of the
most famous merchant princes ever known: Emma Harte. She
had been dead now for thirty years, and the store was run
by Emma's granddaughter Paula O'Neill. Paula, an elegant
woman in her mid-fifties, had inherited her grandmother's
skills and brilliance as a retailer, and her daughters
Tessa and Linnet were following in her footsteps. Both of
them worked at the store; Tessa was in charge of the first
three floors, which sold cosmetics, perfumes, leisure
wear, lingerie, and active sports clothes. Linnet, Tessa's
half sister, was in charge of the fashion floors and
worked with Paula on public relations.
It was Linnet O'Neill who had hired Evan to be one of her
assistants, and for the first few months Evan had helped
Linnet put together a retrospective of fashion, which had
been a huge success and pulled many new customers into the
store.
Linnet. Tessa. Ambitious and complicated, they were now
part of Evan's life.
As a reward for all her hard work and dedication, Linnet
had given her this promotion...and Evan was in her element.
Evan stood in front of the couture fashion displays which
had been finished late last night. They were great, she
decided. The display staff had done a good job with the
clothes she had selected.
Turning away, she walked down the floor, making for her
office. Tall, slender, and dark haired, she was good
looking, elegant. Back at her desk she glanced at the
photograph of Gideon Harte. She had fallen in love with
him, and he with her, that first day when he had bumped
into her in the corridor. She had been looking for the
management offices, and he had led her there, all the
while firing questions at her. And it was Gideon who had
told his cousin Linnet about her; Linnet had subsequently
interviewed her and given her a job.
Sitting back in her chair, Evan thought about the past
eight months and all that had happened.
She had never expected to find a second family in England.
Only a year ago the only family she knew were her mother
and father, and her two adopted sisters, who lived in
Connecticut. But all that had changed because of her
grandmother Glynnis Hughes. On her deathbed her
grandmother had told Evan to go to England to find Emma
Harte, adding that Emma was the key to her future. And
Evan had done exactly that, only to discover Emma was
dead. But she had fallen in love with the store and
decided to get a job there.
And now here she was, working at Harte's, planning a
future with Gideon, and struggling to adapt herself to a
whole new family... because she herself was actually a
Harte. It was Paula who had discovered through Emma's
diaries that Evan was another great-granddaughter of Emma
Harte's, because Evan's grandmother Glynnis had given
birth to a son fathered by one of Emma's sons. And that
child was Evan's father.
They had welcomed her, treated her kindly and with
enormous understanding, but at times things had been
difficult for Evan. So many things to unravel, so much to
accept, so many people to get to know. Sometimes it seemed
endless to her.
Most troubling of all was the knowledge she had about her
father's biological father...which she had been afraid to
relay to him. Would her father, Owen Hughes, welcome the
information? Would he really want to know that the man who
had brought him up was not his father after all? She
didn't know, and she continued to wrestle with these
questions.
Evan knew she had to come to a decision. Her mother and
father were coming to London in a week or so, to spend
time with her and have a vacation. Could she look her
father in the eye and not tell him the truth? Could she
keep it a secret? And should she? Nobody could advise her
really. Gideon had told her to do what she thought best,
and everyone else had been noncommittal.
The ball was back in her court.
Then there was Robin Ainsley, her new grandfather, the man
who had been her grandmother's lover during the Second
World War. He had been a pilot in the Royal Air Force, a
Battle of Britain pilot, and her grandmother, Glynnis
Jenkins then, had been a young woman from Wales who worked
as Emma Harte's secretary, in this very store.
Evan liked Robin; her feelings were even stronger than
that. And she knew only too well that he longed to meet
his son Owen Hughes. But would her father want to meet
this "stranger"...a stranger who was his real father? His
mother's lover. 'Oh God.'
Evan turned on her computer and after a few moments
started to work on it, but within an hour the troubling
thoughts about Robin, Glynnis, and her father's imminent
arrival began to intrude. Turning the computer off, she
made her decision. She would take Linnet's advice and go
to Yorkshire after all for a week's rest. And she would go
to see Robin Ainsley, still needing to know about his
relationship with her grandmother, and most of all to
truly understand why Robin and Glynnis had never married.
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