Power of a Woman Read Online Free PDF

when it came to running the company. She had earned that trust, had proved to him time and again that she not only knew what she was doing but that she was brilliant at it. No, Bruce would not tolerate Nigel’s machinations, what he would term “youthful insubordination.” And he would be on her side.
    Rousing herself from her thoughts about her eldest son, Stevie hurried out of the study and headed along the second-floor landing. Of medium height and slim, Stephanie Jardine was an attractive woman, with a head of dark curls, light gray-green eyes, and a well-articulated face. High cheekbones and a slender nose gave her a look of distinction; she was elegant in an understated way, dressed in a loden-green wool pants suit and sweater that brought out the green lights in her eyes.
    Stevie took the stairs at a rapid pace, realizing that she had wasted a great deal of time dwelling on the past and Ralph, living through her memories both good and bad. She had guests arriving the next day, and even though they were family, everything had to be well prepared for them nonetheless. Her mother, in particular, had very
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    high standards and was accustomed to a great deal of luxury as the wife of a famous star of stage and screen.
    As she reached the great hall, the grandfather clock standing in the corner began to strike. It was exactly six o’clock. Chloe was due to arrive in an hour, and a smile touched Stevie’s eyes at this thought. She could not wait to see her daughter.
    Somewhere nearby a door was banging, and she felt a rush of cold air blowing down the great hall.
    It seemed to be coming from the direction of the sun room, and she went through the archway that led to this area of the house.
    The solarium, as it was usually called, was long with many windows; two sets of French doors led out to the covered porch that stretched the length of the back facade of the house. One of the doors had sprung open and it was swinging back and forth on its hinges, banging against a wooden chair.
    She went to close it, then paused at the door and peered out. It was a dark night, with a black sky empty of stars. A corridor of bright lamplight streamed out from the solarium, illuminating the porch and its stone balustrade beyond. It diminished the darkness.
    Stevie went outside, as she often did at this hour, loving the tranquility, the silence of the countryside.
    It was so pleasing to her after the din of New York, and especially so at nighttime.
    Her eyes scanned the sky and the landscape 38 / Barbara Taylor Bradford
    surrounding her. She noticed then that the mist of earlier had settled in the well of the garden. It was heavier now, and it hugged the grass, swirled in thick patches, obscuring the stone benches, the fountain, and the flagged rose garden. How eerie everything looked tonight, she thought. Stevie swung around and made a swift retreat back to the house.
    As she stepped inside, a strange feeling swept over her. It was a premonition really…and it made her catch her breath. The feeling was similar to the one she had experienced that afternoon, but this time it was much stronger, more forceful.
    She threw it off. And then Stevie Jardine laughed at herself again, as she had earlier, and shook her head. She, who had never believed in portents or omens and was totally unsuperstitious, was actually having presentiments of trouble. Ridiculous. She laughed again.
    Some months later Stevie was to remember these strange feelings, and wonder.

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    E VERYONE SAID SHE WAS SPECIAL.
    Chloe herself, when she was old enough to understand such things, did not agree, although she did know she was different. She was different because she was illegitimate.
    She bore the name Jardine because that was her mother’s name, but she had long understood that she was not actually of the Jardine family.
    Her mother had never hidden her illegitimacy from her, and when she was eight years old she had carefully explained the details of