Read Online Scarlet Devices by Delphine Dryden - Free Book Online

how things could possibly be set to rights in time for the scheduled start of the race in the morning.
    â€œBloody hell.”

F IVE

    O NE E NGLISH COMPETITOR , one French entrant and the sole driver from China were sitting on the sidelines at the race start, and Eliza was fervently thankful she was not among them. Their steam cars were irredeemably soiled, as they had all featured jaunty soft tops that happened to be open at the time of the sabotage. One Dominion driver had also been affected, but his sponsor had come through with a replacement vehicle just in time for the starting lineup. The rest of the steam cars had been cleaned up, though most of them had suffered cosmetic damage. The lineup was not nearly as bright and colorful as it should have been.
    That it had been sabotage was clear. The liquefied manure solution was obviously calculated to do the most damage possible, even if the fire were thwarted. No culprit had been found, however, and the race’s sponsors had agreed that the incident should not derail the event.
    â€œYou can say it, you know,” Eliza said to Matthew as they waited with the other drivers to walk out to the starting line. The bank building off Tryon Square, where the race was set to start, was crowded with sponsors and luminaries. As cultured as the throng was, Eliza still had to raise her voice to be heard over the babble. Matthew leaned closer to listen and she caught a whiff of his shaving lotion, an unexpectedly warm and spicy note from a man she thought of as neither of those things. She scolded herself for liking the way he smelled.
    â€œI can say what?” he half-shouted.
    â€œThat the sabotage means it’s all too dangerous for a little thing like me.”
    He pulled back and shrugged. “It was already too dangerous for a little thing like you.”
    â€œI’m just surprised the incident didn’t prompt further lectures.” In truth, Eliza had almost looked forward to the challenge of arguing with Matthew about her continued right and qualifications to participate in the rally. Over the weeks they’d spent training in tandem at Hardison House, she’d grown accustomed to the regular infusion of righteous indignation those conversations afforded her. His failure to renew the battle in the face of these new circumstances had been vaguely disappointing.
    Although she hadn’t been there for the horrific spraying of flammable cow dung, Eliza had seen—and smelled—the aftermath, and assisted in the cleanup effort. She couldn’t fail to notice that most of the other drivers eyed her and Matthew with a chilly suspicion, as their two vehicles had escaped relatively unscathed. Thanks largely to Matthew’s efforts, Eliza’s steam car gleamed as brightly as ever this morning, a rosy beacon against the field of scoured and hastily rewaxed competitors. Thanks to the color choice, the press had already labeled her “The Scarlet Woman,” much to her mother’s mortification. She’d received a number of telegrams from home, upon her arrival at the hotel, elaborating on that theme. Eliza’s protests that the color was amaranth, not remotely scarlet, had thus far fallen on deaf ears. The reporters continued to use the epithet, and her mother continued to scold her from across the state and beg her to reconsider participating in her cousin’s “mad scheme.” At least the latter concern would become moot the moment the race began.
    â€œIt’s not my job to lecture you now,” Matthew said with a somewhat devious smile that Eliza hadn’t seen before. “It’s my job to win the race.”
    â€œIt’s your job to beat
me
, you mean. Fair enough.”
    â€œDo you think beating you would have any more effect than lecturing you? I suppose I could put you over my knee, in that case. It’s unorthodox, but I’m certainly willing to give it a go if you are.”
    She started to