“Fine: now sing for us!”
“Gracious, what a bold little girl!” exclaimed Rafaela.
They opened the drawing-room windows, and Quentin sat at the piano and played the opening chords of the baritone aria from Rigoletto. Then, in a hearty voice, he began:
Deh non parlare al misero
del suo perduto bene....
He suddenly recalled his school, his friends; then he felt sentimental, and put a real sadness in his tones. When he sang, Solo, difforme, povero, he felt almost like weeping.
After Rigoletto came the song from Un ballo:
Eri tu che machiavi....
Quentin exhausted his repertoire; he sang all the songs from the Italian operas that he knew; and then, exaggerating his English accent, he sang Rule Britannia! and God Save the Queen!
The two sisters and the old servant sewed as they listened to Quentin, who kept up a steady stream of conversation like a stage comedian. They laughed at his stories and clownish tricks.
He had an inexhaustible supply, and related many anecdotes and adventures that were mostly invented by himself....