The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1658

Sean could tell that Arabella was no ordinary girl. Belied her youthful appearance was nerves of steel.

As they approached the next hairpin turn, Arabella intended to hug the curve with the tightest arc possible, but Sean had other plans. He widened his trajectory, aiming to overtake her on the outside.

Arabella saw him coming and, once again blocked him. Even as Sean's car nearly scraped the guardrail, she didn't flinch, but drew a beautiful arc so close to the barrier that the crowd held its breath.

To ride that close to the guardrail was flirting with disaster. A miscalculation could send her crashing through and tumbling down the slope.

But the pair's driving skills were as breathtaking as they were precise. The audience was on the edge of their seats, erupting into cheers as the cars left the bend safely and continued down the track.

This was racing at its finest. Pure skill on display.

Some spectators had seen their fair share of street races, but nothing had come close to the spectacle they were witnessing tonight.

Arabella managed to keep her lead.

But Sean was hot on her tail, forcing Arabella to tap her brakes ever so slightly.

She wasn't intended to slow down but to flash her brake lights. Sean would see the lights and instinctively hit his brakes to avoid a collision.

Arabella stepped her foot on the brake for less than a second, and repeated it a few times.

She knew she was gaining precious seconds over Sean with each tap of the brakes.

Sean was relentless in pursuit.

Just then, Arabella suddenly moved aside, and in the next instant, Sean spotted a rock in his path.

At such high speeds, maneuvering was out of the question. He braced as the car rumbled over the rock and slowed down. The low clearance of his sports car caused the rock to scrape the undercarriage, but Sean only eased off the speed briefly before he accelerated again.

"If that girl had any malice, she could've guided Sean's tires right over that rock; in such case his car could have flipped, and it could've been fatal."

"But she blocked his view, steering him towards safety. A rock scraping the bottom won't flip a car, but if it scraped the tires, it would certainly take a hit."

"She intended to make him slow down, but not to take his life. There's some kindness in her."

"In comparison, that Harlan's race tactics were just unsportsmanlike."