Nevertheless, he knew he must submit; for, however narrow his experience might be, this woman's smile and winning grace, even when she said the hardest things, told him that she would have her own way.

He had the sense to understand, too, that whatever her plans might be, their object was to bring him near to herself, a reflection which was extremely soothing to his vanity.
"If you will come and sing to me--only to me, of course, for I would not ask you to compromise your _debut_--but if you will come and sing to me, we shall be very good friends.

Does it seem to you such a terrible penance to sing to me in my solitude ?" "It is never a penance to sing," said Nino simply.

A shade of annoyance crossed the baroness' face.
"Provided," she said, "it entails nothing.

Well, we will not talk about the terms." They say women sometimes fall in love with a voice: _vox et proeterea nihil_, as the poet has it.