Episode 1416

Aired: Monday November 29, 1971

In a replay of Friday's close, Alice is finishing her phone call with Trask. Alice smiles and hangs up the phone. Catherine asks who it was and Alice answers "It was an important call for me that I was waiting for." Catherine says "Why would anyone call you here?" Alice smiles and says "Why, indeed?" and picks up a spare pillow from the foot of the bed. Catherine scoffs that she should "get rid of that phone, since I'm so tired of hearing it ring all the time." Alice puffs the pillow in her hand and says "Well, you won't have to hear that phone ring anymore...." as she approaches Catherine's face with the pillow in her hands. Catherine begins to gasp "Alice! No! No! Nooooo!"

After the titles, Alice pushes the pillow into Catherine's face as she struggles for life. "Don't worry, dear Catherine.... Gregory and I will take good care of your precious estate..." Meanwhile downstairs, Gregory and Valery return, all smiles. They wonder where everyone is, and go into the drawing room, where Harrison sits alone reading. "Well," Trask says, "Where is everyone this evening, when we have such news to announce?" Harrison doesn't look too thrilled over the prospect of the news as Valery tells him "Congratulate me, Harrison! I'm now married! Isn't that wonderful." Harrison looks at Trask with scorn, but tells Valery congratulations anyway, "though I can't truly say I'm happy about this." Valery gets upset and tells Harrison that "Gregory is a fine man. Why doesn't anyone think I can take care of myself?" She turns away from him, but Harrison takes her hand and she turns around as he says "That's not the reason...the reason is much more... personal." She is surprised to hear this, but before she can react, Edward enters the room. "What's this I heard outside? You didn't go ahead and do what I think you did, did you? he says to Valery with a sneer. She looks at him angrily and says "You don't run my life." Edward laughs and pours himself a drink "No, dear cousin, but someday I may run this house and you should take note of that." Trask smiles to himself before turning to Valery and telling her "Don't pay attention to them. They will come around in time." She says that she wants to go upstairs and tell her father, and as the two of them leave the drawing room, Alice, looking frazzled, comes running down the stairs yelling "Help! Help!" Edward steps outside to see her, and she yells "Edward! It's your grandmother! She's....she's not breathing! I think she's dead!" Valery and Edward both run upstairs. Trask and Alice look at each other momentarily, not noticing that Harrison sees them from inside the drawing room.

A doctor is examining Catherine's body and pulls the sheet over her face. "She must have died in her sleep while Alice was sitting here," he says. Valery cries in Trask's arms as Edward and Quentin watch the scene. Alice is at the doorway as Quentin asks her "Did she say anything before she died? Anything? Alice lies that Catherine was asleep when she arrived, and "I sat and waited for her to wake up... and she just stopped breathing." The doctor leads them all out of the room and they start to head downstairs. Harrison catches Quentin in the hallway and holds him back after everyone else passes. "Something you may want to know," Harrison tells him. Quentin tells him "Tell me later... we need to find Benjamin first and tell him. I think he's out with Kitty." Quentin leaves Harrison in the hallway. Downstairs, the doctor leaves as Edward, Valery and Trask head for the drawing room. "Quentin is going to try to find Benjamin in town," Valery says. "I think my father may be there with Stanford as well." Edward looks over Valery and Trask and nods with scorn. "Well, you certainly got in under the wire, Mr. Trask," he says. "What is that supposed to mean?" Trask says. "You know exactly what I mean, sir!" Edward scoffs. Valery tells them both to stop fighting as Quentin enters the room. "What's all the yelling about?" he says. Edward sneers that Trask married Valery "just in time" to get his hands on some of the money, and Quentin looks at Valery and says "You're married? Since when?" Valery says "Earlier tonight." Quentin humphs and says "Well, I guess congratulations are in order. I'll congratulate you, Trask, you've certainly outdone me as far as letting women take care of you the rest of your life." Trask shouts "I resent you saying that! How dare you talk to me or my wife that way!" Valery starts to cry and runs out of the room. Trask still glares at Quentin as Quentin smirks a bit and says "Well, Trask! Aren't you going to run after your loving wife and comfort her? Isn't that the first impulse of a man truly in love?" Trask turns to walk away, but Quentin grabs him and says "I can't speak for Edward, Trask, but I can tell you that I'll certainly not stand for it if anyone in my family is harmed over the lust for money around here. Anyone. Do you understand me?" Trask pulls away saying "Let go of me." Before he leaves, Trask says "Perhaps you may not want to make such threats in the future, Quentin." Quentin and Edward look at each other.

Quentin is drinking in the drawing room with Alice. Quentin complains to Alice about Trask, and Alice turns away as she does her best to lie, saying "Well, there's no need to ask me about his sudden marriage...." Quentin apologizes, saying "I know how you felt about him, I'm sorry." Alice smiles an evil smile that Quentin doesn't see, but then Harrison enters the room. "I thought you had gone out," he says. Quentin tells him that Edward "took it upon himself" to announce the news of Catherine's death to everyone in the family. Harrison asks how people will react, and Quentin says "Different people will react differently, I suppose. As she got older and sicker, it seemed a lot of her personality faded away... I'm still haunted by my last conversation with her. The way she played games with my mind, it was so unlike her." Quentin pours himself another drink and then says "What did you want to talk to me about before, Harrison?" Harrison glances at Alice and says "Nothing important, never mind." Harrison turns to Alice and says "I'm sorry you had to be the one to be there when it happened." Alice says it was okay, and Harrison adds "Especially with the news of Valery's marriage coming right afterwards. You must be under tremendous strain." His tone is odd for the question, as if he already knows the answer. Alice gets uncomfortable and leaves the room. Quentin looks at Harrison and asks "What was that about?" Harrison says "Maybe nothing, but maybe something much more. It was what I wanted to tell you upstairs. When she came downstairs and told everyone your grandmother was dead, I got the impression that Trask seemed to be expecting it, or knew it somehow. And then they looked at each other in a very strange way." Quentin snaps "You're seeing things." Harrison answers "Maybe. Maybe not. In any case, we may want to keep a close eye on more than just Trask and Valery."

The front door opens and in walks Benjamin and Kitty. He takes her wrap and wonders where everyone is. Edward comes downstairs and asks Benjamin where he's been "all night." Benjamin says they went into town and lost track of time. "Why?" Edward takes Benjamin aside and tells him that Catherine has died. Shocked, Benjamin asks how, and Edward says "she died peacefully in her sleep. But it's been anything but peaceful around here." Benjamin asks what he means, and Edward answers "Our cousin Valery has married Gregory Trask." Benjamin says "That cannot be! How could she?" Edward says she married Trask before Catherine died, but "that doesn't mean I trust Mr. Trask any less." Kitty tells Benjamin she's sorry about his grandmother. "If there's anything I can do...." Benjamin tells her he expected this. He turns to ask Edward about what arrangements are being made, and Kitty notices that her hands have begun to deteriorate near her gloves again. She tries to hide them from Benjamin as he turns back to her and asks her what's wrong.