"And you asked me to play--I who only play as I am taught, and you can play like that!"
Oscar was delighted with Helga's praises and suggested that they should play together. They played a difficult selection, full of flourishes, and the company declared they had never heard anything like it.
"Wonderful, wasn't it?" said somebody.
"Yes, wasn't it?" said Thora.
She was feeling utterly eclipsed and forgotten when Helga wheeled round on the music-stool and said:
"And now Thora must give us something on her guitar--Aunt Margret says she plays it beautifully."
"Indeed she does--beautifully!" said Aunt Margret.
But Thora begged off in alarm, saying, "No, indeed, no! I couldn't possibly play after playing like that."
So Oscar and Helga began again. This time it was an English ballad. Helga played the accompaniment, and Oscar sang the air, and there was a chorus which they gave together. The company were completely carried away. "Charming!" "Exquisite!" "But how well their voices harmonize!" "They might have been meant by nature to go together!"
"Might they not?" said Thora.