Love Drives In (11 page)

Dorina took a deep breath and pressed down with her foot. The carriage began to glide forward and she almost cried out at the wonderful feeling.

"We're moving," she said ecstatically.

"That's right. Now turn the wheel slowly, that's it – "

But in the same moment she seemed to lose control. The carriage swerved and came to an abrupt halt against a heavy piece of machinery. The jolt sent her sideways straight into the Earl's arms.

At once they were surrounded by men, worriedly examining the carriage.

"Have I damaged it?" she cried.

The man called Mike made a reassuring gesture.

"Not so much as a scratch," he said.

There was another cheer. Dorina realised that the Earl's arms were still around her.

"Shall I take over again?" he asked.

"Yes, I think perhaps you should," she said.

They did another few rounds of the shed before coming to a halt.

"I wanted you to see this," he said. "But now I suppose we must stop."

They bade everyone goodnight, and left the shed in a kind of dream.

All the way home they were quiet, awed by the beautiful thing that had happened. Neither of them could find words, but they both knew that they were glad they had shared the moment.

"Cook wasn't sure whether you wanted dinner, my Lord."

"Oh dear, I hope she isn't too angry with me," the Earl said. "Please tell her that anything will do."

In the dining room he poured her a sherry and one for himself. Henly came in just then, stiff with disapproval.

"I could have done that for your Lordship."

"Don't worry about it," the Earl said cheerfully.

Henly began to lay the table.

"I have conveyed your message to cook, my Lord, and she says that she does not serve 'anything', but will provide your Lordship with a proper meal."

He sailed out, the picture of outrage.

Dorina gave a choke. The Earl's eyes met hers, gleaming with merriment. Then they laughed out loud together.

"Poor Henly will never recover from you pouring your own sherry," Dorina said. "It is not what an Earl does."

"Well, I'm not a proper Earl, any more than my father was. I'm just an engineer giving himself airs, but at this moment I wouldn't be anyone else in the world. Wasn't it wonderful as we went round and round, taking those turns – "

"Crashing," she reminded him.

"You'll learn. I'll teach you properly, because something tells me that you can understand about this more than any woman in the world, more than any
person
in the world."

Before he could say more Henly swept in with soup. They maintained a sedate silence as he served them and swept out again.

When the door closed behind him they both relaxed.

"I can't stand this," the Earl said. "I've never been in such trouble before."

"You'll have to apologise to cook," Dorina warned him.

"I was only trying to be kind and helpful," he complained.

"Servants don't always like that," Dorina said. "They think you're implying that they're not up to the job."

She tasted the soup, which was delicious, and so missed the puzzled look that the Earl gave her.

"I wonder how you knew that," he said.

"Knew what?"

The temptation was great and for a moment Dorina almost yielded to it.

But how could she tell him anything after this evening, when he had revealed his secrets to her? If he knew her true identity, he would put the worst construction on everything. It must wait for another time.

So she only smiled mysteriously and shook her head.

"You're right," he said at once. "I have no business asking, especially after I misjudged you so dreadfully."

"Let us not speak of that," she said quickly.

"But I must speak of it. I meant no harm but I was wrong about everything. To a certain kind of sophisticated lady, the Alhambra is nothing but a good joke."

"You mean like Lady Musgrove, or 'Elsie' or, I dare say, many others."

She had not meant to say the last words, but she was inspired by a sudden spurt of jealousy.

"I give you my word," he said, "that I am not a hardened womaniser – "

"No – of course not – please forget that I said that – I had no right – "

"I admit that I have led a colourful life – perhaps too colourful – but I am not as bad as you think I am."

"I think nothing, my Lord. Nothing at all."

"Is that your way of telling me that I can never be anything to you?"

"I – I cannot say," she faltered. "Please, let us not speak of it now."

Her heart had leapt at his words, with their hint that he loved her, or might come to love her. But she could not respond to him as she might want to. Too much between them was concealed. Love could only flourish in honesty, and that time had not yet come.

"I'm afraid that you are still offended with me," he said. "After what you suffered that night, I cannot blame you. I can only hope that time will erase the memory and you may truly come to forgive me."

"But I have already forgiven you. It was partly my own fault for wandering off like that."

"None of it was your fault," he said warmly. "I should have known better than to take you there. The thing is – I've become a little careless – you might say that I've lived carelessly. This house has seen too many women like Lady Musgrove, and Elsie, and others, I'm afraid."

"You don't owe me any explanations."

"But I want to make things clear between us. Don't you understand why? No, no, pretend I didn't say that. It's too soon. I only want you to know that all that is over. Such ladies are no longer a part of my life."

For a moment she could not answer. She was afraid that if she spoke her voice would shake with the emotion of the moment. What she was hearing was so wonderful, so full of hope and joy for the future, that she could hardly believe it, desperately though she wanted to.

"I – I am sure you have made the right decision, my Lord," she said at last. "You will be free to concentrate on your great inventions and see them benefit the whole world. You need no distractions."

"Distractions, yes. That's what those frivolous women are. What I need is a woman who is as passionate about my creations as I am myself."

He did not say more, but his eyes intent on Dorina made it clear that she was the woman he had in mind. She felt as though she were floating in a blissful dream.

But his next words shook her to the soul.

"And it will take all the concentration and all the skill of which I am capable, to defeat John Radford."

There was a slight clatter as Dorina set down her wine glass too quickly, and struck her soup bowl.

"John Radford?" she asked faintly.

"My chief rival and the only one that I fear. You know so much, you must surely have heard of him?"

"I have heard the name," Dorina said cautiously. "I believe he too is an engineer of repute."

"Indeed he is, and a very great man," the Earl agreed with a readiness that warmed her to him. "Whatever major engineering developments there have been this century, he has led them."

"He? Not your father?" Dorina could not resist asking.

He made a humorous face.

"The only way he managed it was with his title. He was so proud that they made him an Earl and offered Radford nothing. Mind you, I heard rumours that Radford was offered a title and refused it. I'm only glad my father never knew that. It would have spoiled the victory that meant so much to him.

"Since he died, it has been my ambition to outwit John Radford, on my father's behalf. And now – " a glow seemed to light his face, "now I'm finally within sight of doing it. You can't imagine what that means to me."

"Does it matter so much, being the first?" Dorina asked.

"It's the first man whose name goes down in history," the Earl said simply. "John Radford knows that as well as I do. I suspect that's why he's suddenly gone quiet."

"How do you mean?" Dorina asked in alarm.

"He almost seems to have vanished from the face of the earth. People who contact his business in Birmingham find themselves talking to employees, but never to the man himself. It's as though he's gone into hiding, and my guess is that he's very close to victory and doesn't want any distractions. If only I knew the answer."

He stopped as Henly appeared to clear away the soup plates and serve the next course. Meanwhile Dorina tried to think of a way to distract the Earl from this subject which was fraught with danger.

When they were alone again she said,

"So let us plan for the future of your horseless carriage. Have you decided on the next step?"

"There are one or two small technical problems to be overcome, but they won't take long. The steering needs a little attention."

She spoke only to distract his attention. She did not care about the steering, but she loved to hear him talk with such intensity.

And he did talk. All through the meal he discussed his work with a total confidence that Dorina could appreciate. In fact, she did not understand everything, but she knew she could follow more than any other woman would have been able to.

The Earl was good at explaining things, better than her beloved father had been, she had to admit. Many things became clear to her that had been obscure before. The whole wonderful world of engineering and inventions seemed to open out before her, as if for the first time.

At last the Earl said,

"Serve us coffee in the library, please Henly. Then everyone can go to bed."

When they were alone in the library he poured the coffee himself, while he talked on for another hour. It was about work, with nothing personal about it. Pistons, petrol, ignition, horse power – these were the words Dorina remembered afterwards.

But what she also remembered was the sense of vision, of standing on a high mountain and seeing as far as her inner eye could see. She wanted to stay there for ever.

At last he fell silent, watching her in the soft glow of the firelight.

"I've done all the talking and not let you say a word," he said.

"But I've enjoyed listening," she protested. "Now I know so much more than I did before. You make everything so easy to understand."

"I shall be there at the usual time, my Lord," Dorina said primly.

He laughed and held out a hand to help her to her feet.

They emerged into the hall to find just one light throwing a faint glow. Everyone else had gone to bed, and the house was quiet.

Dorina followed him up the main staircase. When they reached the first floor, her room was on the left while his was on the right. There were soft lights glowing where the passages turned.

"Goodnight," Dorina said. "It was a wonderful evening. I have never enjoyed myself more."

As she looked up at the Earl, she saw that he had a strange look in his eyes. It was quite different from the predatory admiration she had seen there at the Alhambra. Now there was sincerity and respect, as well as tenderness.

She caught her breath. It was almost too much for her.

"Goodnight, my Lord."

"Goodnight – Dorina."

In a daze she made her way to her room, resisting the temptation to look back and see if he was still watching her. When her door was safely closed she went to the mirror and surveyed herself.

She was still in the plain clothes she had worn all day, her hair pulled severely back. There seemed to be nothing alluring about the woman who faced her, nothing to tempt a man to draw closer.

And yet he had wanted to draw closer. Not because she was pretty but because their minds met. Their hearts too were meeting, although much must happen first. They were not ready, but it would happen soon.

She could dream about that.

Over the next few days, the Earl often took her to the factory to see the horseless carriage and show her how to drive it. Under his tutelage she became a very good driver, with an instinctive feel for what the vehicle could do.

"You've taken to this naturally," he told her, helping her down. "You might have been doing it all your life."

In a sense it was true she thought. She might not have been driving all her life, but she had been breathing in this atmosphere all her life. She should have told him long ago, but she had refused, wanting to enjoy this sweet time for a little longer.