“Ah-h?” came the odd query from Mrs. Tuke. “Don’t you like it?”
“Yes,” said Alvina. “Very much.”
“And aren’t you dying for the song?”
“Quite.”
“There!” cried Mrs. Tuke, into the moonlight. “Una canzone bella-bella—molto bella—”
She pronounced her syllables one by one, calling into the night. It sounded comical. There came a rude laugh from the drive below.
“Go indoors, Tommy! He won’t sing if you’re there. Nothing will sing if you’re there,” called the young woman.
They heard a footstep on the gravel, and then the slam of the hall door.
“Now!” cried Mrs. Tuke.
They waited. And sure enough, came the fine tinkle of the mandoline, and after a few moments, the song. It was one of the well-known Neapolitan songs, and Ciccio sang it as it should be sung.