Page 26 of Hearts Aweigh

E MILY PAUSED OUTSIDE A LTHEA AND Daisy’s cabin door. Was she doing the right thing? Heaven was silent, so she was going with her gut. This blackmailer needed to be stopped.

No one messed with her family.

She knocked on the door. Gerry opened it and moved away to allow her entrance.

With no windows, the inner cabin resembled a spacious closet.

The contained space barely had room for the four of them.

Daisy stood inside the cramped bathroom, fixing her makeup in the mirror.

Althea sat on one of the white-duvet-covered single beds, and Gerry settled beside her.

Emily twisted her purse handles and entreated heaven one last time.

“Girls”—she plopped her bag on the compact desk by the wall—“I have important news.” She cast a nervous glance at the Shipper in the bathroom. “A blackmailer has taken up residence on the MS Buckingham .”

Daisy’s hand stilled briefly before she continued applying her mascara. “You don’t say. First there were drug smugglers. Now blackmailers.”

Althea tsk-tsked. “It’s getting so a body isn’t safe anywhere.”

Emily rapped on the desk. “Just like we tracked down the smugglers, it’s our duty to find who’s threatening the passengers with these black envelopes. Show them, Gerry.”

Gerry produced the taped-together note and passed it to Althea.

“Mmm-mmm- mmm .” The sassy Shipper hummed in disgust as she read. “Whoever wrote this has a flair for the dramatic. He thinks he’s some villain in a Sherlock Holmes novel. ‘Indiscretion equals money.’”

Daisy’s body drew tight. Emily waited for her friend to confess she recognized the words, but Daisy remained silent. Instead, she replaced her mascara wand in the tube.

Gerry took the note from Althea and walked to the bathroom door. “Do you want to see this, Daisy?”

“No, thank you.” Daisy dabbed a spot of her favorite magnolia-scented perfume on her throat. “Althea can tell me about it later.”

Frustration boiled inside Emily. Why was Daisy pretending ignorance? Didn’t she trust the Shippers with her secrets after everything they had overcome together?

Daisy meandered from the bathroom, picking a single piece of lint from the black sleeve of her jacket. “I’m ready.”

“Finally.” It took Althea two bounces to maneuver off the bed. “I’m starving. Let’s not visit Trafalgar tonight. Those fancy portions are too small.”

Gerry tucked the note in her pocket. “Guess this can wait.”

A complaint rose in Emily’s throat, but she refrained from voicing it. There was plenty of time to discuss the blackmailer. For the moment, they could concentrate on their primary mission.

Matchmaking.

“Speaking of Trafalgar,” she said, “I spoke to Abigail a few minutes ago. She was dining there with Daisy’s son and granddaughter.” She hesitated before adding, “They made quite the familial picture.”

Daisy ignored the comment. “Did you tell her about the sous chef?”

“Yes, and she’s raring to go.”

Althea chuckled. “That’s one thing I love about Abby. She’s willing to give anyone a try. Her heart’s bursting with love to give to somebody.”

“True,” Gerry said. “Let’s make sure her enthusiasm doesn’t cause her to choose the wrong somebody.”

Abigail O’Brien was a dream client. Attractive, amiable, and prepared to follow their direction without argument.

Yet a weed of worry refused to be yanked from Emily’s brain.

Something prodded her like a missing item on a to-do list. Abby deserved the very best, but the best looked different for each person.

Who was the man she was meant to be with?

Not because the Shippers picked him but because heaven ordained it long before they were born.