Sally radiates happiness when talking of her marriage to Alan, who owns a popular restaurant serving mediaeval banquets. She’d been drawn to him during the main course, but her then boyfriend, John, threw up the goose. Nine months later Sally gasped out her marriage vows just before giving birth to twins. Sally had been in business with John, placing large bets for racehorse owners who fixed races. Because Alan despised gambling, Sally told him little of her former life, making her vulnerable to blackmail. John botched a betting coup, ruining the odds for Frank Catlin, a former lover of Sally’s.

John offered Sally a choice. Take £40,000 from Alan’s business and skew the odds back in Catlin’s favour, or resume her affair with Catlin. Money was the lesser of two evils. When Sally initially confessed, Alan made a series of phone calls and whisked her off to the races. There he made threats, did deals and received huge winnings. He soon took over the business, becoming better at it than Sally and John had ever been. Love just about survived the mutual disillusion. There’s another baby on the way, so everything’s fine. Isn’t it?

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