"Perhaps she'll sing well," Dorothy said to herself, "for the lovely song that she chose for her number couldn't be twisted into anything funny."
Was that really so, or was Dorothy trying to think so? Was there anything that Patricia could not "twist" if she chose?
The charming old song is very sweet when properly sung, and the words fit the melody.
| "I dreampt that I dwelt in marble halls, |
| With vassals and serfs at my side, |
| And of all who assembled within those walls, |
| That I was the joy and the pride. |
| I had riches too great to count, could boast |
| Of a high ancestral name, |
| But I also dreampt, and that charmed me most, |
| That you loved me just the same." |
So runs the first verse, but Patricia had never seen the music. She had heard the song a number of times, and felt competent to sing it.
Dorothy had asked her to practice it, then had offered to loan her the music, but Patricia declared that she needed neither practice, nor the use of the music.
"Are you sure you know the words?" Nancy had asked.
"Of course!" Patricia had said sharply.
Nancy played the prelude, and Patricia sang. Sang with all her might, one might say, but oh, the words as she sang them!
She had caught them as they sounded, giving never a thought as to whether they made sense.