A Flash in the Pan by Lilian Kendrick Read Free Book Online Page B

strange, thank you, Jordan.”
    The envelope contained two letters.
     
    Your Royal Highness,
     
    The enclosed note, addressed to you was found at the home of Mrs. Ethel Cook. It seems she passed away whilst writing it. I have therefore taken it upon myself to deliver it, in honour of an old lady’s last wishes.
     
    Yours,
     
    George Withers
    Police Constable.
     
    The second letter was unsigned.
     
    My Dear Lady,
     
    Thank you so much for choosing to wear my gift on your special day. I am happy that it pleases you.
     
    It is with regret, however, that I must decline your kind invitation to attend the celebrations. I could offer a barrage of insincere excuses, but the truth of it is I haven’t a thing to wear.
     
     

23. What are the odds?
     
    “This is daft! I don’t know the first thing about horses.”
    “I’ll explain it. Then you pick four.”
    “But you’re going to bet on them. That costs money. We don’t have much.”
    “It’s only a quid, well £1.10 if we include the roll-up.”
    “What does that mean? You’re talking gibberish now.”
    With as much patience as he could muster, Jim tried to explain.
    “We’re going to choose four horses, in four different races. Then we place a bet. We need at least two of them to win because we’re doing a Yankee.”
    “What?”
    “A Yankee involves picking four horses in multiple bets: doubles, trebles and a roll-up (or four-timer). All the combinations are covered. So it’s actually eleven bets at ten pence each.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “You don’t need to. Just pick the bloody horses.”
    “How do I know which ones to pick?”
    Taking a deep breath, Jim explained how the letters and numbers that followed the horse’s name on the race card indicated its previous form and preferences. After ten minutes Lucy’s eyes had glazed over. This wasn’t going to work. He stood up.
    “Leave it to me, then. I’m going down to the bookies. I might get a tip from one of the lads if I’m lucky.”
    Lucy picked up the ‘Racing Post’ again and tried to make sense of it all. It just wasn’t happening. None of it made sense to her.
    Later, they watched the racing together. Jim’s selections didn’t win, of course. They seldom did. He hadn’t bet on the last race of the day and as they watched the runners and riders parading before the race he said:
    “I should have gone for ‘Crying Wolf’ in this one. It’s got good odds.”
    “I’d have gone for ‘Breathless Kiss’. It’s going to win.”
    “It’s got no chance! That’s why it’s priced at 100 /1.”
    “I bet you ten pence it wins!”
    “You’re on. That means when it doesn’t win you have to pay me ten pence.”
    “And when it does? How much do you have to pay me?”
    Jim was too busy laughing to work it out.
    The race started and Crying Wolf took the lead, but in the last furlong Breathless Kiss came from nowhere and won by a short head. Lucy leapt up from the sofa.
    “I won! I won! How much do you owe me?”
    Jim was gobsmacked. He reached into his pocket and handed over his last £10.
    “How did you do that?” he asked. Lucy blushed slightly.
    “Well, er …”
    “Come on, if you’ve got inside knowledge all bets are off and I’ll have my tenner back!”
    “Well, I liked the name and …”
    “And what?”
    “Did you see the rider? He was gorgeous!”
    “He’s called a jockey, damn it! You can’t pick a winner because you fancy the jockey.
    “Oh?” said Lucy. “I thought I just did.”
     
     

24. Internet Security!
     
    I think it’s time I started to share your interests.
    That’s nice, love. Do you want to read my story?
    No, I want to learn Facebook.
    O kay , shall I help you set up an account?
    No. You can show me yours and I’ll see if I like it. How do you ‘talk’ to people?
    It tells me over here which of my friends are online, and I click on their name to open a chat window. Then we type messages in the box.
    So who’s online now?
    (She