“Don’t expect me to play it for you,” said Cathalina, with a gesture of dismissal as far as she was concerned. “It has an awful accompaniment.”
“‘Awful!’” exclaimed Lilian. “It is beautiful—the most inspiring, rippling thing!”
“I mean, my dear, that it is hard to play. Here it is,” said Cathalina, lifting a pile of books to take the sheet of music from the table. “Look at those runs, Hilary. Do you blame me? But Philip, of course, played it easily.”
“The accompaniment is half of its attraction,” said Lilian, exhibiting the song to Eloise, who was naturally interested and hummed the air as they went through it. “You get a picture of the action in every line, and I love it where it repeats ‘the wind in his wake is singing.’ Then, here at the end it is so effective.”
Cathalina turned to Hilary with a smile, saying aside, “‘I love thee’ is repeated several times, with growing emphasis! Of course she and Philip sang that in unison! But it really is a glorious love-song, and Lilian’s voice is so clear and full on it. No wonder she likes it. Phil gave it to her. I don’t think it has been out very long.”
“Let’s go down to the Shakespearean Hall and try it over,” suggested Isabel. “I have the key.”
“But who’ll play it?” asked Cathalina.
“Evelyn will try it, I know,” said Hilary. “She can play anything at sight.”
“So can you, Hilary,” said loyal Lilian, “but it will be fine if Evelyn will do it. Will you, Evelyn?”
“What is it?” asked Evelyn, who had been talking to Olivia. “Oh, that? Yes, I know it. The voice teacher gave that to one of the senior girls just before the holidays. I played the accompaniment for her two or three times.”