At the thought of a woman trying to come to grips with a billiard cue, Christle folded his arms and prayed for patience. Eddy stood at the head of the billiard table, in case he needed to give May a little help.

May chalked the end of her cue and then, appearing a little nervous, hesitated about where to set the cue ball on the table.

Eddy positioned it for her. Then, as she lined her cue up for a shot, he said helpfully, ‘You need to break up the triangle of red balls at the far end of the table, but try not to hit the pink ball at the top of the triangle or you’ll lose points.’

‘Thank you, Eddy.’ May was all demureness. And then she steadied her cue, lined up her shot and cracked the cue ball into the side of the reds.

They scattered. The pink ball rocked slightly, but otherwise didn’t move.

Eddy’s eyebrows rose in admiration. ‘Wonderful beginner’s luck, May. Well done.’

May lined up her cue again, concentrated and then slammed a red ball straight into a bottom pocket. Even more spectacularly, the cue ball came to rest exactly where she had intended it to, which was in a position perfect for potting the black.

Before either Eddy or Christle had got their breath back, May potted it and then, still with the cue in her hand, turned her back on the table and, with a wide grin on her face, said to a dazed Eddy, ‘Sorry for the tease. I just couldn’t resist it. I’ve been playing billiards since I was old enough to hold a cue. Do you think the two of us could play against Christle and Dolly, or Christle and Alge?’

‘I most certainly do, May, but you’re a naughty girl and, as a penance, I want to see you play the same joke on my papa.’

At midday, news came that although Toria and Maudie were slightly better, two other guests and another member of the household were now suffering from influenza, and Eddy’s mother had developed a severe cold and was keeping to her room.

‘It’s a bugger. The house is beginning to resemble a hospital,’ Georgie said at lunchtime. ‘If it wasn’t for Eddy’s birthday the day after tomorrow, I’d be packing my bags and heading straight back to Marlborough House.’

‘Cheer up.’ Christle threw a pellet of his bread roll across the table at him. ‘It’s out with the guns in the morning. A bit of fresh air in our lungs will keep the influenza bugs at bay.’