George was undisturbed. “Mrs. Withersby, it’s the rules of the race. Nothing I can do if all the other horses pull out. The race is voided. There’s no betting.”

“Oh, yeah? You’re prob’ly why they did. You could’ve poisoned their food, hammered on their hooves—”

“Come on, Withers,” said Trueblood. “You’re being ridiculous.”

But George went on: “Tell you what. If Aggrieved wins, if you place your bet with me, I’ll double it.”

“What? Give you me hundred quid that’s two months’ rent? You think I’m crazy?”

“Yes,” said Trueblood.

“Ya flamin’ fairy, shut up!”

Jury, also standing at the fence, was amazed at what George then said.

“Okay, then.” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “Suppose I give you your winnings now, as long as you promise if Aggrieved loses, you’ll give me back my hundred?”

Even Withersby had to take a step back at this offer. Even she was convinced this guy must be honest. “Oh, bloody hell, never mind.”

George repocketed his money and turned to Diane.

Diane had her binoculars trained on the starting gate. She loved the binoculars, which were black, strong and so small she considered wearing them in place of her pearls. They could pick out anything, including a couple way up there at the top who were pawing one another to perdition.

To her, George said, “That must have cost you, sweetheart. Only two horses pulled out for sickness and leg trouble. That left six. Six horses’ entry fees.”

She turned her binoculars to look at his face. “Oh, it wasn’t all that much. Entry fee was only fifteen thousand pounds per. I just wanted to make certain Aggrieved won.”

“Hell, that’s ninety thousand.”

“How wonderful, Georgie, you can do arithmetic.”

George Jenks, thought Jury, was so good-humored, good-natured and equable, he was amazed that Diane Demorney could have rattled him into leaving.

But maybe it hadn’t been a rattle at all. Maybe the two of them were so much alike that they were at a loss.

Jury thought of Tony Servino and Daisy Brownell and was sad. He wished to God they were here, that they hadn’t lost. He wished they’d won.

Aggrieved had come out of the gate now and was running along the middle of the track, Bugsy Malone way up in the saddle, looking as if he were competing with a dozen other jockeys.

George said, “Even without the buy-off, we could have won, sweetheart.”

Binoculars down, Diane turned to him. “That’s exactly what you said, Georgie, before you walked out the door: ‘We could have won, sweetheart.’”

“I did?” He gave her a long look, put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her in as Aggrieved rounded the bend and thundered by. The kiss was not just a touch on the cheek but a hard one on the lips.