Love Drives In Read Free

I was too far away for you to reach me, but you have written to inform me of my father's death and I will doubtless return to England as soon as possible. But in the meantime you will carry on the business until I arrive."
    "And then you will lead us," he said. "As your father did."
    "Yes, but not at once. I want to learn about business first, so for the moment I will leave it to you to carry on exactly as if Papa was still alive."
    "But what do you plan to do in the meantime?" he asked.
    "I will tell you that on the journey home," she said. "We should be leaving very soon."
    Monsieur Laforge provided his own carriage to take them to Paris, and everyone turned out to wave them off, with many expressions of good will.
    They managed to secure sleeping cars on the night train from Paris to Calais. After eating dinner in the restaurant car, they retired for the night. Now that the first shock had passed, Dorina felt dragged down by grief and was unwilling to talk, or even to think any more tonight.
    When her maid had made her comfortable and bade her goodnight, Dorina sat up in bed.
    'I have simply got to make a success of this,' she told herself. 'Even though I'm quite certain the men who work for Papa will think I am too young, too pretty and too stupid to take his place.
    'Yet I am sure he will help me from Heaven, and I will use the brains he always said I had. Then I will carry on his work and his achievements will not be lost.'
    She got out of bed and went to the window, looking out at the darkened countryside that was swiftly passing by.
    She looked up at the sky.
    'Help me, Papa, help me,' she prayed. 'Wherever you are, tell me what I am to do. Oh, why couldn't you have waited just a little longer and been at home to welcome me? Already I miss you so much.'
    *
    Next morning she and Mr. Johnson ate a quick breakfast as the train covered the last miles to Calais.
    "In many ways your father succeeded by being first in whatever he undertook," he told her. "We are making a train now that will be in advance of anything on the market. And, of course, there is his pet scheme."
    Dorina gave a rueful smile.
    "You mean the idea of a horseless carriage? Dear Papa, he was so set on that idea. Nothing would convince him that it simply isn't possible."
    "He always said that it was the way of the future," said Mr. Johnson, "and that was his strength, that he could see what the future held for engineering."
    "You don't mean that he's given his factories over to pursuing this crazy dream?" Dorina asked, startled.
    "Oh no, we're still turning out the solid goods that have been the firm's bedrock. The horseless carriage is simply a research project at Birmingham. It's been kept very secret because so many other people are looking into the same thing, and he wanted to be the first."
    "But surely it isn't possible?"
    "Once people said rail travel was impossible," Mr. Johnson reminded her. "Yet here we are, tearing about the world behind steam engines, going as fast as thirty miles an hour. You will scarcely believe this, but when the first passenger train ran, sixty years ago, there were those who predicted that the human frame could not endure a speed of thirty miles an hour. They said we would explode. But we didn't. Who knows what else is possible?"
    "Who knows?" Dorina murmured. "Well, it will certainly surprise a lot of people to see me carrying on Papa's business, because I am a woman."
    She laughed as she added,
    "Most people, especially the English, think women are pretty little things with no brains."
    "And you're going to prove them wrong?" he asked admiringly.
    "I am going to have to find out first what I should have done ages ago – that is, how a businessman thinks, plans and makes decisions."
    "Won't this turn out to be rather a hard life for you?" he pondered. "You're at the age when a young woman should be enjoying herself, buying beautiful dresses, having young men compete for her."
    "I don't feel much like enjoying myself