Barbara Taylor Bradford - Angel

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Special overseas edition 1993

This paperback edition 1994

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 1993

ANGEL. Copyright © Barbara Taylor Bradford 1993. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Barbara Taylor Bradford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Source ISBN 9780586212841

Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2011 ISBN: 9780007401567

Version: 2017-11-14

For my beloved husband Bob,

with whom I have always shared the

many-splendoured thing.

Epigraph

The angels keep their ancient places;—

Turn but a stone, and start a wing!

’Tis ye, ’tis your estrangèd faces,

That miss the many-splendoured thing.

Francis Thompson

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

Part One Shining Stars

One

She stood near one of the huge stone pillars, a…

Two

A blast of cold air hit Rosie in the face…

Three

Almost three hundred people had been invited to the wrap…

Four

It was a glittering day.

Five

Nothing much had changed in the apartment since she had…

Six

Kevin Madigan stood leaning with his back against the bar…

Seven

The bar was called Ouzo-Ouzo and it was located on…

Eight

Out on the sidewalk, the two detectives stood talking for…

Nine

The house stood on a high, densely-wooded hillside in Benedict…

Ten

Johnny Fortune did not like Nell’s friend.

Eleven

Rosie was mortified.

Twelve

Long after the two women had left, Johnny was still…

Thirteen

‘So, come on, ’fess up, Rosie mine. What exactly did…

Fourteen

‘I’ve been here for over twenty minutes and you haven’t…

Part Two Sacred Friendships

Fifteen

Although the traffic in Paris was heavy, it moved along…

Sixteen

Rosie looked across at Collie, and said quietly, ‘I was…

Seventeen

‘Mademoiselle Colette looks so much better, n’est-ce pas?’ the housekeeper…

Eighteen

Within the space of a few seconds, Rosie was slamming…

Nineteen

Much later, after she had bathed, redone her make-up and…

Twenty

‘What happened between your father and Kyra? Did they quarrel?’

Twenty-One

Kyra Arnaud came back to the Loire Valley a week…

Twenty-Two

There was something quite majestic about Kyra Arnaud, Rosie decided,…

Twenty-Three

Two pairs of eyes, one set blue, the other green,…

Twenty-Four

Tiredness overwhelmed Collie.

Twenty-Five

The skies of Paris were an etching in grisaille, a…

Twenty-Six

Back at his suite in the Ritz, Gavin ordered a…

Twenty-Seven

‘A man who gives a woman pearls of great value…

Twenty-Eight

Collie was desperately ill and Henri needed her.

Part Three Dangerous Relationships

Twenty-Nine

‘You’re making progress, really doin’ good, Kevin,’ Neil said. ‘You’ve…

Thirty

It was icy weather, and the drizzling rain was rapidly…

Thirty-One

Ever since Collie’s untimely death in the middle of January…

Thirty-Two

Johnny Fortune stood in front of the mirror in his…

Thirty-Three

In a funny sort of way, Johnny was relieved to…

Thirty-Four

It seemed to Rosie that Johnny Fortune had taken possession…

Thirty-Five

Johnny was waiting for her in her suite at the…

Thirty-Six

An hour later Rosie stood to attention in front of…

Thirty-Seven

Morning sunlight streamed in through the huge plate-glass windows. It…

Thirty-Eight

Henri de Montfleurie had never presumed to understand women, finding…

Thirty-Nine

Vito Carmello was so pleased he could not keep the…

Forty

Rosie felt a wave of nausea sweep over her and…

Forty-One

Gavin Ambrose sat on the sofa in the sitting room…

Forty-Two

On Monday morning Rosie and Gavin went straight from JFK…

Forty-Three

Rosie knew that Johnny was in Manhattan.

Forty-Four

Johnny was devastated.

Part Four Truest Loves

Forty-Five

‘When I get out of here, we can go on…

Forty-Six

Rosie did not notice that they had passed Trump Tower…

About the Author

Other Books by the Same Author

About the Publisher

She stood near one of the huge stone pillars, a little to one side in the shadows, watching the fight.

The woman, whose name was Rosalind Madigan, was taut with nerves. Her hands were clenched at her sides and she held her breath; then her lips parted slightly in anticipation and anxiety surfaced in her eyes.

Metal struck metal as swords clashed.

The warriors battled on. They were fencing to the death; she knew there could be only one winner.

Brilliant light, penetrating the windows set high in the castle walls, glanced off their swift and lethal swords. Gavin, the smaller of the two, was slender, supple and fleet of foot. He went on the offensive, moving with great speed, his rapier thrusting forward dangerously. He drove his opponent back…farther back across the stone floor of the vast Great Hall. Suddenly he had the advantage.

James, the other knight, taller, broader, more cumbersome of body, was now pinioned in a corner, his back pressed close to the wall, a mixture of fury and fear blanching his face.

To the woman, it seemed that the fight would be over sooner than she had anticipated. It was perfectly obvious to her that Gavin was about to triumph. Then, much to her amazement, James managed, somehow, to shift his stance, ever so slightly but just enough to manoeuvre his bulk into a new position. Unexpectedly, he lunged forward purposefully, and she sucked in her breath. He now had the advantage.

Gavin, somewhat taken by surprise, was thrown into a defensive position. Surely this was not the way it was meant to be, she thought, and leaned forward, her eyes riveted on the two men.

Gavin moved backward swiftly, and with his usual dexterity, as nimble as a dancer, he parried James’s thrusts with immense skill and strength.

James went on lunging after him, breathing heavily, brandishing his sword with equal expertise, but he was not quite as light on his feet as Gavin.