"Still, on the next day he went to see the doctor. When he returned he was irritable, quarrelsome, and refused to even go out with her.
"She cried. What else can a woman do? He quieted her soon, and made her beg forgiveness. The reason for his irritability was, he said, the condition of his throat, as the doctor had explained it to him. It made her sit up the whole night. What if her Pedro should lose his golden voice?
"The next morning she made herself ready to go with him to the doctor. It was an Italian who knew French well. She would try to get him to tell her the truth about her husband's voice. But Pedro insisted that she must remain home. She did not have proper street wear to conceal her state. He talked and talked until she gave in and remained home.
"No sooner was he gone and she regretted to have let him go alone. Why! in a taxi she could be there without being much seen by any one!
"She dressed hurriedly and was soon at the medical man's door. She heard Pedro's voice. He sang to a piano's accompaniment. The voice was as clear as a bell, the 'tessatura' as firm as rich velvet.
"She rang the bell. A servant came out. 'No, the doctor was not in town.'
"'He has not been in town the last two days. He was always away on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of every week.'
"'Who's playing? who's singing?'
"'The great tenor and the doctor's wife'——
"And the door closed with a bang.