“Don’t fool yourself, Miss Twyler. This will be nasty for Philip . . . could even cost him his job. But believe me, you’ll never be mistress of Llewellyn Hall when Lady Exner dies. What is it, Miss Twyler?”

Val’s face had gone chalk white. “She’s going to die in a few minutes. And so is Regan Reilly.”

Chapter 64

AT SEA

THE PHONE RANG. Groggily Regan opened her eyes and reached over, fumbling for the receiver. Fingers snapped around her wrist. A hand closed over her face. She felt her head being pushed down into the pillow. Electrified, she dug her teeth into the hand that was pressed against her mouth. With a muttered curse Hard-wick loosened his grasp. Regan managed to scream once as the phone continued to ring.

“No answer there, sir.” The ship’s operator sounded sleepy. “They probably turned it off for the night.”

“You must get through to them!”

“But they’re not answering, sir. I could have a message slipped under the door,” the sleepy voice droned.

Bloody nitwit, Livingston thought frantically. Waste of time trying to explain it to her. Regan’s mother and father . . . better to get to them . . . What in hell was the father’s name . . . ? “There’s another Reilly on board. Put me through.”

“We have two other Reillys, sir. Either Luke or—”

“Luke, that’s it. PUT ME THROUGH!”

Immaculata’s head was snuggled against Mario’s barrel chest. He was contentedly sleeping. She was enjoying the luxury of the king-sized bed, storing in her memory every detail of the expensive suite and looking forward to the joyous reunion with Mario Jr. and the family, now only a few hours away.

She froze as she heard a faint but distinctive sound. Was that a scream? Was Lady Exner or that nice Regan having a nightmare? Careful not to awaken Mario, she slipped out of bed, tiptoed to the door, opened it a crack and listened. There was no further scream.

Someone was moving around in the other suite. Was Lady Exner sick? Maybe she should knock on the door and see if she could help. On the other hand, they were not supposed to be up here. Too uneasy to go back to bed, Immaculata stood indecisively, the door open a crack.

The phone rang. Like a shot Nora’s arm grabbed the receiver. “Hello.” She listened. “Oh my God,” she shrieked. “Luke, Luke, someone’s going to kill Regan!”

As Luke bolted from the bed, Nora sobbed, “Please, God, don’t let us be too late.”