And when he had finished, Edith sat still, saying nothing, for really there was nothing to say, her mouth smiling from that laugh, her eyes a little dim. And Peggy’s “Oh, Hugh!” which was all she said, was nearly as appreciative as her sister’s silence.
He sang a couple more songs, one by Brahms and the short one-versed “Am Jordan” from the “Meistersingers,” and then came and joined them on the veranda.
“And that’s the end of my parlour tricks this evening,” he said. “I promised Reuss not to sing much on days when I smoked much. And I have smoked much, and will now smoke more.”
“I wonder if you enjoyed it as much as I did?” said Edith.
“Oh, more probably, because it is such fun doing things oneself!” said he.
“You must have worked very hard. Did Reuss teach you entirely?”
At this moment the children’s nurse appeared in the drawing-room, and Peggy went in to see what she wanted. The interview seemed not to be satisfactory, for she went upstairs with her, leaving the other two alone.
“Yes, and the brute says he won’t give me any more lessons. Oh, not because I don’t need any more--he made that delightfully clear, though, of course, one knew it--but because I won’t take it up professionally!”
He lit his cigarette and turned around to Edith.
“Why should I?” he said. “We really had rather a row; he says it isn’t fair on him.”
Edith felt so keenly on this point that before she answered she had to remind herself that she had met this young man for the first time that evening.
“Ah, I see his point of view, I must say!” she said. “No voice is, as we both know, worth anything till it is trained. You owe him a good deal; everyone who hears you sing owes him a good deal.”
“But I don’t want to,” said Hugh, as if that quite settled the matter.
“Do let me consult you,” he said, “if it doesn’t bore you. You see, what has happened is that the Opera Syndicate have asked him if I would take an engagement for next year. That’s what we had a row about.”
“Yes, but he refused to take any answer until I had thought about it. He said I must take a fortnight to consider it.”
“Really it sounds quite ridiculous,” he said, “but they suggested ‘Tristan,’ ‘Meistersingers,’ and ‘Lohengrin.’ Of course, I have studied those particular parts though I should have to work hard all autumn and winter. I imagine Reuss told them that. In fact, I imagine he worked the whole thing.”