Love Drives In Read Free Page A

with Papa just dead. Still, I know what you mean. But that life isn't for me. Maybe I'll never marry. Papa has left me a sacred trust, and I won't let him down."
    For a moment the softness left her face, replaced by a look of steely determination that startled Mr. Johnson. On the journey across the English Channel he asked,
    "What exactly do you plan to do when we reach England?"
    "Discover all I can, so that I'm fit to take over."
    "Wouldn't it be enough for me to teach you?"
    "I shall want you to teach me, but I need to see everything from a different angle first. Who were Papa's greatest rivals? I need to know all about them if I'm going to beat them at their own game."
    "The one who matters most is the Earl of Kennington."
    "I've heard Papa mention him. It always surprised me that an Earl should be in trade."
    "His father was awarded the title as a reward for his services to the country."
    "I see. A title for him, but not for Papa?"
    "I think he could have had a title if he had wanted one. There were hints that a large donation to a political party might work wonders. He wasn't interested. He said titles were a waste of time, and he had better uses for his money."
    She laughed.
    "I can just hear him saying it."
    "We're nearly there," he said, looking at the white cliffs of Dover that were growing nearer.
    "Remember to take no notice of me," she reminded him. "The press know your face and if they see me with you it will start speculation about my father. From here on, we travel apart, you to Birmingham, me to London and Papa's house."
    "Your house now," he reminded her. "Remember the servants know nothing about his death. I'll keep things going in Birmingham and wait to hear from you."
    "If I am in any trouble I'll contact you," Dorina promised. "Otherwise I'll lie low for a while."
    "Trouble?" A frown creased his forehead and there was an uneasy note in his voice as he asked,
    "Miss Radford, exactly what are you planning to do?"
    An impish smile touched Dorina's lips.
    "It's probably best if I don't tell you," she said.
    Mr. Johnson felt the hair begin to stand up on the back of his neck. He had seen that look before on the face of his late employer when he had just had a ground breaking idea that would either bankrupt the firm or make everyone's fortune.
    *
    Dorina woke very early, and for a moment she could not think where she was.
    How did she come to be in her own bedroom in London when she should have been in France?
    Then it all came rushing back to her – her father's death, the journey home, the decision she had taken.
    Now was the time for action.
    Her maid came in with the tea.
    "Thank you, Bertha. Please lay out my plainest clothing."
    Bertha stared. She was used to her mistress looking glamorous and elegant. The skirt and jacket that Dorina put on was dull and not very becoming.
    Then she sat down at the dressing-table and brushed back her hair until it was away from her forehead and her cheeks. She pinned it securely at the back of her head.
    "Whatever are you going to do, miss?" Bertha breathed.
    "I'm going to get a job," Dorina said firmly.
    As the butler served her breakfast Dorina said,
    "Hastings, you know everything that's happening in London. Please tell me where the Earl of Kennington lives."
    "You mean your father's competitor, miss?" he asked in tones of arctic disapproval.
    "That's right. It's time I discovered a little more about him."
    "He lives in Grosvenor Square, miss."
    Plans were forming in her head. Bertha had just finished the unpacking, and gaped when Dorina instructed her to pack up again.
    "Not very much, this time," she said. "And no fine clothes. The plainest things I have. I want to look businesslike.
    'If I arrive with my luggage,' she thought to herself, 'I can say that I reached England early this morning and my friend in France had told me to go straight to the Earl of Kennington.'
    "Will I be coming with you?" Bertha asked.
    "Not this time. I want you to ask Hastings to fetch me