Drums rolled. The orchestra struck opening chords as the elegant hostess, Lady Eleanor Ashworth, stepped into the spotlight dressed in a black tulle Chanel gown draped with a cobalt cape.

Behind her, the outline of Château de Versailles shimmered in the distance. The hostess raised her hands in the air and dangled a whip from her right fingers. A collective gasp. She teased the audience, circling the whip above her head as the music started to crescendo and the spotlight glowed. Fireworks exploded and screamed into the inky sky. Thousands of coloured stars hissed and fell.

With a flick of her arm, Lady Ashworth lashed the whip down onto the sawdust, and a dozen miniature ponies wearing sequined headpieces entered the ring, fanning out behind her. On their backs rode burlesque dancers in matching burgundy masks and under-bust corsets, their muscular legs braced for balance, bare breasts bouncing. The women in the audience laughed and rolled their eyes at one another while their menfolk loosened bow ties and leaned forward on the cushions to catch a better view.

With the next beat of the drum, the hostess cracked her whip again, and the ponies broke off into pairs and cantered in a pretty circle. Four storeys above, the acrobat leaned forward and dropped onto the highwire, doing the splits. The wire swayed slightly with the gathering wind.

The audience cheered…