‘Um – I think an each-way bet. My friend didn't specify.’

‘What sort of a friend would make you do something like that when you don't know much about it?’

Dora smiled. 'A friend who's hoping I won't do it,' she said, although she knew this was a bit of a slur on Tom, who probably did want her to achieve the goals he set for her.

‘Right now, let's have a ponder,' said the first man, getting out his card. 'What do you think, Jerry?’

Jerry got his card out too. 'You don't think we'd better discuss this over a drink? Will you have a drop of some thing with us, my dear?’

Dora hesitated. There was no way going for a drink with two strange Irishmen was part of the bet.

‘C'mon now, if your friend is happy to let you run around the racecourse picking up tips, he can't object to you having a quick one while you're doing it,' said the one who wasn't Jerry. He put his hand into Dora's. 'My name's Gene.'

‘I'm… Dora.'

‘You don't sound too certain of that, Dora. Are you sure you're not called Dorothy or something instead?’

She laughed. 'Oh, I know I'm Dora, I'm just not sure if I should go for a drink with two men I've never met before in my life.'

‘If you don't mind my saying so, Dora,' said Jerry, 'you did pick us up. It was not the other way around. If we're prepared to trust you, I think you should trust us.

‘Now, we'll go to that bar over there. You'll be sur rounded by hundreds of people so don't worry. Then we can study the form and win you some money.’

Dora weighed up the odds and decided going for a drink in a public place was indeed fairly safe.

`So, tell us, Dora, do you come to the races often?' said Gene.

‘I've never been before. My father sent me tickets. He and my mother were invited to some corporate entertain ment thing and couldn't go, so my friend and I came instead.'

‘So, what will you have to drink?' shouted Jerry when they reached the bar, which was so noisy Dora was surprised he could hear her answer which was, to her shame, 'Half a lager.'

‘Not at all,' said Gene. 'Have a wee whiskey. It'll do you no harm at all.’

As it was too noisy a place to have a proper argument, Dora accepted meekly.

They found a corner that was a bit quieter, and the three of them nursed their drinks while Gene and Jerry studied their racecards, and then their copies of the Racing Post.

‘We've missed the first race, but we can do something with the others,' said Gene.

‘I like the look of Jordan River, myself,' said Jerry.

‘Let's not have any of your deviant fantasies,' said Gene. 'We all know Jordan River is not half as good as she looks. What about Swiss Chalet, now?’

Dora tuned out, sipping her whiskey, which was neat and quite large. She felt so reckless, drinking strong drink with men she didn't know while they picked a horse for her. It was a good feeling. Tom would be proud of her.

‘Well, my dear,' Jerry said after what seemed like an age. 'How much of a gambler are you?'

‘And you don't have a lot of time to make up your mind,' added Gene.

It was over an hour before Dora found Tom again. He was sitting surrounded by the women who'd been on the train, and was decidedly anxious.

‘What happened to you?' said one of the women.

‘Tom here thought you'd been kidnapped,' said another, waving a bottle of champagne at her.

‘Have a drink,' said a third.

‘I don't think I should,' said Dora, feeling her whiskey, rather. 'I'm sorry to have worried you, Tom. But I did my dare! Now, did you see who won the second race?'

‘No,' he said. 'At least, I can't remember who won. Why? Did you have money on it?'

‘In a manner of speaking. Did I miss the finger buffet?' Dora realised she was hungry and felt she ought to have something to sop up the whiskey anyway.

‘Oh no, it's all in there,' said one of the women. 'We left you the fish-paste sandwiches.'

‘That was crab pâté,' said her friend, who was now, for some reason, wearing a cowgirl hat. She must have seen Dora looking at it. 'We're on my hen do,' she explained. 'The hat's obligatory.'

‘Hen do's were not like this the first time I got married,' said one of her number, who was cheerful and Scottish. 'We just got plastered in the pub and tried to pull the barmen.'

‘Just because you didn't have a hen do the second time you got married, you mustn't rain on my parade.’

Dora remembered that she and Karen had been going to spend a day at a health spa for her hen do, but she'd cancelled the wedding before they could go. She brushed that thought hurriedly aside.

‘I've nothing against hen dos, hen,' said the Scottish woman confusingly, 'it's just if you're a hen when you're a chick, by now we must be old boilers.’

The others hooted with laughter.

‘Enough with the poultry, let's have another drink!' shouted the Chief Hen.

Tom took Dora by the arm and led her out of earshot. 'What happened to you?' he repeated.

‘Well, like you said, I found someone to give us a tip.

Only there were two of them and they took me for a drink first.'

‘Dora! You shouldn't go for drinks with strange men! Did your mother teach you nothing?'

‘I'm trying to shrug off the shackles of what my mother taught me, and you're helping me. You told me I needed to be more adventurous..

‘You know what I mean. Anyway, how much money did you put on?’

Dora felt it wasn't the right moment to tell Tom that she'd had to visit a cashpoint machine before she could go to the betting office. 'Oh, nothing to worry about. Tell me how the food thing works? I'm starving.'

‘The girls told me you just have to show your ticket once and then turn up as and when.'

‘The girls, Tom? That's not very politically correct.'

‘Oh no, they're definitely girls. They referred to them selves as that. After all, they're on a hen do.’

Dora laughed and headed towards the food tent.

‘So, are you hungry?' Tom asked as they showed their tickets. 'Or did your tipsters feed you as well as fill you with strong drink?'

‘How do you know it was strong drink?’

‘I can smell it.'

‘Oh, sorry. I'd better eat something, but we must be quick. It's almost time for the next race.’

Tom couldn't understand why Dora got more excited and yet more anxious as each race was run. At the end of the last race she shouted herself hoarse.

‘You've really got into this, Dora. I'm surprised.'

‘Don't distract me,' she yelled at him. 'If I lose con centration he won't win!'

‘Who won't win?'

‘Our horse!'

‘So is this the race you put the bet on?'

‘Yes. And no. And all the others.'

‘What?'

‘I'll explain later. Come on, Jim Boy!' she yelled, jumping up and down.

‘It's an accumulator,' said an Irish voice in Tom's ear. 'If this one comes home, your girlfriend's won you over a hundred pounds.'

‘Cool,' said Tom. 'Come on, Jim Boy!’

They fell into The Three Sisters that evening just as Jo was contemplating making herself a sandwich.

‘It was fantastic,' said Dora, kissing her cheek, aware that she was a bit drunk.

‘Really cool,' agreed Tom. 'Dora won us loadsa money.’

‘How did you do that?'

‘She chatted up these two Irishmen and they worked out an accumulator for her.'

‘That sounds very brave, Dora! Good for you.'

‘Oh, it was one of my dares.' Seeing Jo's blank expression, she went on, 'Tom is determined to turn me into a brave new woman. He's got five dares for me and I have to do them all. Then he'll give me a diamond tiara as a reward.'

‘In your dreams, sweetheart,' said Tom. 'I'll give you something as yet unspecified.'