’Oh yes?’ says Samantha. ‘You reckon, do you?’ Hmmm.Note to self: might have overcooked that one a bit. Samantha had accepted my challenge.Without hesitation.Now I’m committed. It’s not just a hand of cards I’ve bluffed on here, or a mere football wager. I’ve bet the press officer from Ladbrokes that I can price up a Classic horse race and run the book. And she didn’t even blink.

Perhaps she heard my faint whimper, perhaps it was the involuntary twitching of the bottom lip or maybe she spied the pools of panic gathering in the corners of my eyes, because then she offered me a lifeline.