He hesitates a moment - just a moment - then admits, "Yes. A bit. I do." Another slight hesitation, then he admits, "I thought for a while that I might to go a music conservatory. When I was younger. It seems a phenomenally odd thought now. Good heavens, musicians have to work hard at their craft. It wouldn't have suited me at all."

It might have suited him, honestly. A bit. Music, he does love - music, dancing, all of it. In the early days, before Maman had really let herself go, she'd taught him and Nadine music of all sorts - because it had been Maman's passion. Somehow, in spite of everything, music is still a pleasure for him. He never learned the trick of hating it, as he learned to hate most everything else that he'd loved as a child. Ah, well. A terrible oversight.

Lest she think he's too respectable now, he adds, "Mostly I sing drinking songs. I'd sing a few, but they're a bit lewd for your delicate ears."