“But where was I… Oh yes. You see, I gave Mishka lots of pieces of paper with different horse names written on them this afternoon, and she has distributed them to many of the ladies attending today. Some have ignored them, some have placed bets and won, never to return, and some have lost at the first or second bet. Lady Jessica was satisfied to wager her jacket and she left with some of my money, but unfortunately I could not entice her to make a second bet.”

That part of it made sense to Lady Jane. Jess had won money and her jacket back and had sensibly stopped there.

“And then there was Lady Fortnum, who is now without a jacket. That one will soon be hanging in Mishka’s wardrobe. Unfortunately, I did not guess the winner correctly and so, having been given an incorrect tip, she was not drawn to place another bet.

“Then Lady… what was her name Mishka?”

“Lady Porchester,” Mishka replied in an accent that was even thicker than Sergey’s.

“Yes, Lady Porchester… Her jacket is now very tightly buttoned as she was willing to stake her blouse on a second wager, although unfortunately no more. Oh how I wish she had been wearing a… what is it you call it?… a bolero rather than a jacket. But unfortunately her state of undress is not apparent at a glance, and she retained her bra in any case. Perhaps if I had been lucky with the horse I had chosen for her second bet she would have taken a third and we would have seen a bit more.” Sergey shrugged with a wistful look on his face.

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