Phyllis gave a sudden bark of laughter. ‘That’s not what he told me. And from what I’ve been hearing on the grapevine, that’s not what your friends think either. You were to all intents and purposes practically engaged already.’

Millie’s eyes flickered. ‘I have no idea what Terry may or may not have said to you,’ she responded mildly. ‘And you really shouldn’t listen to gossip either. He was a friend of mine, that’s all. He could be … unreliable at times – or rather I should say that he had an odd sense of humour. I think you’ll find that he was simply pulling your leg, you know, if he intimated there was anything serious going on between us.’

Cool green eyes met and held dark amused brown eyes. Both women smiled.

‘Oh yes, he was very unreliable, I agree with you there,’ Phyllis concurred. She let the moment hang portentously for just the right amount of time, and then added deliberately, ‘As both a husband and a father.’

Outside, in the hall, Juliet felt her twin’s hand fall to her shoulder and squeeze hard in reaction.

Inside the drawing room, Millie froze for a moment, then slowly leaned back in her chair. She’d gone distinctly pale, which was hardly surprising. She felt, in fact, rather sick, and a little punch drunk.

But she knew better than to allow it to show – or to acknowledge it.

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ she forced herself to say mildly. ‘But, clearly, I didn’t know Terry that well. I had no idea that he was a divorced man. I’m so sorry for your loss,’ she added politely. ‘I’m a widow myself, so I know how it feels to lose a loved one.’

Phyllis’s eyes flashed. She was certainly a cool one, this rich society matron. And whilst one part of her admired the other woman’s backbone – respected it, even – another part of her knew that it simply wouldn’t do.

‘Yes. I know,’ Phyllis said. ‘A very respectable widow,’ she allowed a light but distinct emphasis to fall on the world ‘respectable’.

Millie felt her heartbeat rise as the nature of the threat now became all too clear.

So that was the name of the game, she thought wearily.

Blackmail.

She sighed and elegantly cast one leg over the other. ‘It must have been a shock to you to hear about your ex-husband’s death,’ Millie said casually. ‘He never told me he’d invited you to the party,’ she added sweetly, ‘otherwise I’d have introduced myself.’