The Princess & the Pea by Victoria Alexander Read Free Book Online Page B

believe his good luck, and offered one arm to Cece and the other to Emily. Emily waved him away, but Cece linked her arm through his and the trio took off.
    Jared paused before the first vehicle. "This automobile has a steering tiller operated from the rear seat. If you remember, mine has only a single seat and some of us believe..."
    Emily smiled politely and fell back a few paces. She preferred to walk behind the couple: it was so much easier to pretend she was even mildly interested in his explanations that way. Cece might not be like most women, but Emily freely admitted she was. And she considered automobiles, and anything and everything associated with them, unbearably dull.
    Emily narrowed her eyes reflectively and studied the pair in front of her. Jared's energetic tone drifted past her. Cece listened with rapt attention, occasionally posing an obviously astute question, if the look on Jared's face was any indication. The two were absorbed in discussing the intricacies of the horseless carriage.
    Ever since the Exposition, Cece had been intrigued by inventions and new ideas and anything that smacked of progress. But she typically ignored the specific details of innovation. Odd that she was so engrossed in the particulars of these creations ...
    Realization struck Emily like a bolt from above and she stopped dead in her tracks. How could she have been so blind? Her brash, daring, impulsive sister, the same sister who had proclaimed her skepticism of the very existence of love, the same sister who had broken countless hearts back home, was obviously smitten with this man. There was no other rational explanation for her behavior.
    Emily grudgingly admitted she could see his appeal. Certainly he was handsome and quite dashing in the morning coat he sported today, as opposed to the casual garb he'd worn on their first meeting. But far more important than appearance was the fervor and intensity he displayed when discussing his silly machine. Cece always had been drawn to passion and excitement.
    Half the time Emily wished she could be more like her sister. The rest of the time she was grateful she wasn't. Emily was a firm believer in the rules and requirements of proper behavior, of doing precisely what was expected of her. Cece didn't believe in rules at all and reveled in the unexpected. No doubt it would be her undoing one day.
    Perhaps this man could actually be good for her. Perhaps he could channel Cece's unbridled zest for life into his own enthusiasm for automobiles and dissuade her from her desire to be a newspaper reporter. A working woman, Emily shuddered at the thought.
    A gunshot jerked her from her musings and she rushed to catch up with Cece and Jared. She pushed her way to their side amid the cheers of the crowd. The automobiles rolled down the boulevard, their occupants waving with the thrill of the start or staring solemnly at the road ahead. It took but a few minutes for the vehicles to be nothing more than a cloud of dust and a minor rumbling in the distance.
    "My, that was grand." Cece's eyes shone with excitement. "Which motorcar do you think will win?"
    Jared pondered the question briefly. "They have a frightfully long course. The race is as much a test of endurance as speed. I doubt it will take less than three days." His eyes narrowed in thought. "Peugeot has a good vehicle, but I'd bet on Levassor. The man is a brilliant engineer."
    "Well, if we are quite finished here ..." Emily said hopefully.
    "Do you have plans for the rest of the day?" Jared said, as if he had little interest in the answer.
    Cece shrugged in an equally nonchalant manner. "As I said before, we are merely tourists. I should think we shall spend the rest of the day seeing the sights."
    "I would be honored to accompany you." A smile touched the corners of his lips. "I haven't been to Paris for a few years and there are some sights I would very much enjoy seeing again. Perhaps the Louvre?"
    Emily shook her head. "Oh, we've already