An unexpected, uninvited, albeit lovely guest forced her way to the stage, armed only with her smile.
The English gentleman could only receive her with open arms.
Her playing was enthusiastic rather than in tune; he briefly lost control of his facial muscles. English manners forbid him to speak, and a complaint is unthinkable.
So the suffering stays silent, the conflict stays avoided, and composure returns as if nothing happened at all. Embarrassment, endured rather than expressed, as a way of life.
