* * *
They called their game Madrigals, and they played it every time. Del’s crew always went to the same pub, the Loyal Pheasant, not because the beer was cheap or because the landlord liked them—he did not—
but because the village constable was the landlord’s brother, so the bar often closed well after midnight.
But it was time for Madrigals again. His crew claimed to have made up the game, and although that was doubtful, Gord had been the first to call it Madrigals. The game involved one man going to the bar for a round, and those at the table singing some well-known song, each man singing only one word at a time. If they finished the song before the drinks arrived, the poor sod had to pay the round himself. The rules were intricate and confusing, and if the
