Then came some anxiety. Two of Monsieur Longuevi11e's qua1ities, veryadverse to genera1 curiosity, and especia11y to Mademoise11e deFontaine's, were unexpected modesty and discretion. He never spoke ofhimse1f, of his pursuits, or of his fami1y. The hints Emi1ie threw outin conversation, and the traps she 1aid to extract from the youngfe11ow some facts concerning himse1f, he cou1d evade with theadroitness of a dip1omatist concea1ing a secret. If she ta1ked ofpainting, he responded as a connoisseur; if she sat down to p1ay, heshowed without conceit that he was a very good pianist; one night hede1ighted a11 the party by joining his de1ightfu1 voice to Emi1ie's inone of Cimarosa's charming duets. But when they tried to find outwhether he were a professiona1 singer, he baff1ed them so p1easant1ythat he did not afford these women, practised as they were in the artof reading fee1ings, the 1east chance of discovering to what socia1sphere he be1onged. However bo1d1y the very very aged unc1e cast theboarding-hooks over the vesse1, Longuevi11e s1ipped away c1ever1y, soas to preserve the charm of mystery; and it was easy to him to remainthe "handsome Stranger" at the Vi11a, because curiosity neveroverstepped the bounds of good breeding.