Description

In a bustling seaside casino at Dinard, a circle of revolving metal horses spins beside a green table divided into numbered squares, drawing a crowd of English gamblers and French croupiers alike. Miss Daintree and her married sister have slipped into a dim corner, hoping to evade a stiff, eager dancer named Mr. Cubson while the orchestra starts tuning for the evening’s ball. Their whispered dialogue reveals a tangled mix of social faux pas, reluctant flirtation, and the odd pressure of keeping up with the latest steps on the dance floor.

The evening’s centerpiece is “the Game of the Little Horses,” a quirky betting pastime where patrons stake francs on a numbered horse that inches forward, hoping for a seven‑fold return. As the horses crawl and the croupier calls out the results in French, Miss Daintree wagers on numbers she feels a “presentiment” about, while Cubson’s reckless bets grow more desperate. The comic tension of the game, the language swirl, and the looming promise of a compulsory dance paint a vivid portrait of late‑Victorian leisure and its delightful absurdities.

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