The yelling and cheering increased deafeningly as Tommy, crying her eyes out, and Valent, who’d just made it back, came running towards her, and turned to shouts of laughter as Chisolm, to avoid the scrum, leapt up and hitched a lift behind Amber.
‘Bluddy marvellous, well done, both of you,’ Valent had to yell to make himself heard over the crowd, and two fingers to Etta, perhaps she’d forgive him now. Tommy flung a Union Jack round Amber’s shoulders and her arms round Wilkie. A fanfare of trumpeters and two police horses accompanied them back to the winners enclosure.
Raising her own two fingers to the Pony Club, Amber undid her cheek strap and hurled her hat into the crowd, then shyly touched her head to acknowledge the tumultuous applause. Her heart swelled to see an overjoyed Rupert, the handsomest man in England again, with a smile plastered across his face.
‘Well done, angel. Christ, that was marvellous. How could I ever have doubted you? Well done, Wilkie,’ and the little giant killer disappeared under a frenzy of patting from her supporters.
*
Burly Valent and Ryan then escorted Amber through the rugger scrum to the podium in the winners enclosure, so she could weigh in and be drenched in champagne by the other jockeys clapping her from the weighing-room steps, then back to Mrs Wilkinson for photographs and more patting.
Meanwhile, high up in Valent’s box, the syndicate had erupted with joy the second Mrs Wilkinson passed the post. The cavalry charge to the Melling Road was nothing to Corinna and Bonny, who hurtled down the stairs to get in the photograph.
‘Who came second?’ asked Alban.
‘Who the fuck cares?’ crowed the Major.
‘Penny in the swear box, Daddy,’ chided Debbie.
‘I can afford it,’ laughed the Major, ‘I’ve just won two grand.’
Even Shagger, who’d worked out they’d each get £8,000 prize money, was looking quite cheerful.
‘Our horse came third,’ cried an overjoyed Painswick, foxtrotting round the room with Pocock. ‘Good old Sir Cuthbert, Marius will be so delighted.’
‘Your prayers did it, Niall,’ said Trixie, who was so excited she spilled her drink all over the man in the box below, who promptly asked her out to dinner.
Alan, with his laptop on his knee, ecstatically writing the perfect ending, could hardly bear to stop to take a call from Etta in Willowwood.
‘Wasn’t she wonderful, wasn’t she wonderful? Please tell Valent, I was so stupid to make a fuss over that portrait, one must never listen to old wives’ tales. Please give Valent all my love and congratulations.’
‘Fine, fine,’ said Alan, typing with one hand, ‘I’ll ring you later, darling. We’ve got to belt down to the winners enclosure. No, I’m not sure what happened to Furious. Wish you were here.’
By the time he’d finished his paragraph and accepted a kiss and a glass of champagne from Tilda, Alan had forgotten all about Etta.
Marius was so enchanted with Sir Cuthbert coming third for Lady Crowe, and Mrs Wilkinson winning, that he and Olivia hugged Rupert, Taggie and Valent. Mrs Wilkinson, her little sides heaving, was so exhausted, she nearly fell over as she tried to shake hooves with her beloved ex-trainer. Instead she rested her weary head on Marius’s shoulder.
Tommy was in heaven.
‘I look after Wilkie, I do everything for her, I love her to bits,’ she was jabbering to Clare Balding. Alas, her euphoria was fleeting as an ashen Lysander pushed his way through the crowd.
‘Brilliantly done, Wilkie and Amber.’ He gave Wilkie a huge pat and kissed Amber. ‘Sorry to spoil things,’ he turned to Rupert, ‘but Furious had to be put down, broke a leg at the Canal Turn. Ilkley Hall broke his back at the same fence.’
‘Oh God,’ Tommy’s tears of joy turned to horror, ‘poor Furious, poor Rafiq.’
‘Rafiq was there,’ explained Lysander, who seemed still in shock. ‘He was sobbing his heart out, begging the vets to save Furious. We had to drag the poor bugger off.’
‘What about Eddie?’ asked Taggie quickly.
‘Might have put his shoulder out,’ answered Valent, ‘but he was able to walk to the ambulance.’
‘How d’you know?’ asked Rupert.
‘I got there joost after they’d shot Furious, but I doubt if we could have done anything, it was a hideous break. Rafiq was absolutely demented, crazed with grief, he ran off down the course.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ snapped Rupert.
‘I didn’t want to spoil Wilkie’s moment.’
And he managed to lead her in, keeping his unhappiness to himself. That was so brave, thought Taggie, giving Valent a hug.