‘Just a minute, ‘continued Francis. ‘Then we add up everyone’s marks for each quality, and the highest total score wins. For instance, if Aunt Maxine had ten for Looks, marked down on her paper six times by six people, she would have 60 for Looks and be top. Now does everyone understand? Let’s begin.’

But they could not begin yet because Uncle Preston did not understand and Francis had to sit beside him and explain to him on paper. Aunt Maxine was rather scornful about a kid’s game, and Aunt Grace, whose favourite pastime was talking, wanted to indulge in it.

But as soon as Sophia and Francis had succeeded in showing them that the Dodo Game was a heaven-sent way of telling each other home truths without actually signing their names to the statement, they fell upon the game with avidity.

‘Flirtatiousness – oh, do put in flirtatiousness!’ begged Angela, hanging over Francis as he wrote out the slips. ‘I know someone I’m going to give ten to, for flirtatiousness!’

‘We’ll put in silliness, too,’ observed Francis. ‘And lack of S.A., shall we?’

‘Put in extravagance,’ Aunt Maxine suggested, ‘and fussiness.’

Sophia and Francis knew, of course, that the Dodo Game was a rash one to play with relatives who were all only too ready to take dirty cracks at one another without the help of the Dodo Game, but they had not yet learned that it is far, far wiser when playing this game, to leave out the vices and include only the virtues.

Chasms have slid open before unsuspecting feet, the trusts of a lifetime have been betrayed, the illusions of forty years gone bouncing to the twelve winds of heaven because of the Dodo Game. It might be described, among parlour games, as Public Enemy No. 1.

Sophia and Francis dimly suspected this, but alas! their suspicions only made them more eager to go ahead with it.

There was some difficulty about the choosing of the Vices and Virtues, because all the relatives except Auntie Loo wanted the list to consist entirely of Vices. Vices were more fun.

However, at length seven qualities were chosen; Looks, Greed, Sex Appeal (‘not the same as Looks; nothing to do with them’ explained Francis), Tidiness, Brains, Good Temper and Selfishness, as there were seven people present; and the highest score gained for any one quality was fixed at sixty marks.

Then everyone pulled in their chair to the fire, the curtains were drawn against the cool May evening as though winter had returned, the pencils were handed round, and the game began.

Francis and Sophia, of course, could not give vent to their prejudices. If they had, everyone except Auntie Loo would have got 0 for Good Temper, Looks and Brains, and 10 for Selfishness. But as hosts they could not be candid, and they forced themselves to be pleasant, if not strictly just; and their estimates wandered round the cool regions of fives, sixes and sevens, when they were considering the Greed of Uncle Preston or the Sex Appeal of Aunt Grace.