Half an hour or so later the mechanic arrived, along with three other men, and in no time there was a party around the engine. Tool chests were brought out, cloths were spread on the still-damp ground, and men donned filthy overalls in order to get underneath the big car.
Paulie watched and fretted, worrying aloud about how far the Essex team could get. I kept an eye on Anton, and a closer one on the men who started taking apart the engine. As each piece came off, the men would gather around it, examining it and holding a comprehensive discussion before moving on to the next piece.
Irritation and impatience rode high on me, but I repeatedly bit back the demands that they put the engine back together and just let us go on our way, knowing the engine would not stand up to travel in its damaged state.
Almost five hours later, we waved our good-byes again, my wallet quite a bit lighter after the repairs had been made.
“I’ll reimburse you for my half of the cost,” Paulie told me when I got behind the wheel. “Or better yet, we’ll make Roger pay for it, since it was caused by the team he insists isn’t behind all the trouble we’ve had.”
“I’m not concerned about the money,” I said, peering through the grubby windscreen. “It’s the head start the Essex car has that worries me.”
Anton sighed. “I wish I had some reassurance to offer, but alas, there is nothing I can say other than I regret my teammates have chosen this path.”
“Oh, come on,” Paulie said, shooting a glare over her shoulder to him. “You can’t honestly expect us to believe you had no idea the Esses were responsible for damning the entire race from start to finish?”
“No, I assure you I did not. Yes, I knew they told the customs officials about you having a gun, but you didn’t have one, so you were only slightly delayed. And I did know they intended to take all your tires, but Stephen was only able to get a few before someone came by the car. I felt you had enough left to see you through until Roger could replace what you were missing. As I said, those are regrettable instances, but I hardly see how that’s damned the entire race.”
“Don’t belabor the point,” I told her softly. “He will only deny it and you will simply seethe. I’d much rather you had a look at the GPS unit and see if there are alternative routes indicated.”
We drove with few breaks for the rest of the day, sometimes able to follow the main route mapped out by the race officials, other times being led on lengthy detours. Mindful that the Essex team had at least a five-hour head start, we took turns driving with only necessary stops for petrol and to relieve ourselves. Anton had offered to take his turn driving, but it wasn’t until we’d been in the car for eight hours that we finally took him up on his offer and allowed him to take the wheel, although I made sure I was next to him, awake and aware.
Just in case he had any ideas.
It was after midnight by the time we reached Warsaw.We stopped at the first available hotel on the outskirts of the city and took two rooms.
“Get some sleep,” I told Paulie when we straggled into our room. “I’m going to take a shower.”
She collapsed on the bed, lifting a wan hand. “I’d join you, but I think I’d fall asleep even assuming your fabulous body all wet and soapy and naked was pressed against me. Damn.”
“Damn?”
She yawned hugely. “I like you wet and soapy and naked, but I just don’t have the energy to do anything about it.”
I smiled. “Another time you may work your wiles, all right?”
“Deal,” she said, and moaned when she snuggled herself into the mattress.
I had a shower, scraped away the worst of my beard, and donned fresh clothing. When I emerged from the steamy bathroom, Paulie was sound asleep. I pulled off her shoes and tucked her beneath the sheets, stroking back a strand of black hair that fell over her face, looking down at the woman who had so completely barged into my life and turned everything upside down.
I thought about my life back at Ainslie Castle, where I was a glorified clerk stuck in a job that anyone could do. Elliott’s wife, Alice, was more than capable of doing the work, and it had crossed my mind more than once to simply turn it over to her. But what would I do then? I wasn’t trained to do anything but estate management, and how could I ask Paulie to live with me, to love me, when I had nothing to offer her?
I sighed. I’d have to stay a steward. At least then I had the gamekeeper’s cottage to offer Paulie as a home, and enough of a salary to feed and clothe her.
The night air was soft and warm when I left the hotelroom, making sure it was locked before I retraced my steps to the parking lot. We’d pulled the Thomas Flyer into a spot that couldn’t be seen from the street, but there was no parking lot attendant we could pay to watch the car. “Well,” I told it, shaking out the blanket, “at least this time I shouldn’t end up on the floor.”
I slept fitfully for three hours; then Paulie came down to find me. “What are you doing here?” she asked, waking me up. It was light out.
“Sleeping,” I said, rubbing my face. “And guarding the car.”
“Dammit, you should have woken me, and I’d have slept out here with you. Come on.” She tugged me until I was in a sitting position. “I slept like the dead, so I can drive first thing. Let’s get some breakfast in you, and then we’ll go dump Anton on Roger, wherever he is, and get back to catching up to those stinking cheaters.”
I allowed her to pull me from the car and give me a push toward the hotel rooms. “We shouldn’t leave the car alone—”
“It’s not going to be alone,” she said, settling in the backseat and pulling out a small notebook. “Go eat. Take another shower if you want—I’ve had mine. And when you’re ready to leave, get Anton out here.”
I left her to her writing, making a mental note to jot down my thoughts just as soon as we were on the road again. “At least this time I have something interesting to write about,” I said aloud while I made my way to our room. “It’ll need a lot of editing, but there’s a good deal of meat to it. Maybe too much. Hmm. Will have to consult another travel journal to see how they balance real life with interesting facts...”
Paulina Rostakova’s Adventures
