"Listen to the finale; it is beautiful, and Celebore sings admirably..."
"... for a dog."
"Celebriana is one cannot be more dramatic..."
"Only if one hasn't heard Melianna."
"Don't you find Ulmomelco's technique excellent?"
"I don't like baritones who sing blond."
"In verity, my friend, you are too difficult!"
Finally, the curtain fell, and Arafrantz led Réginard, still adjusting his cravat, to the Countess's loggia. The Countess greeted Arafrantz cordially, and acknowledged Réginard's existence with all appropriate charm.
As Réginard attempted to allure the Countess, Arafrantz borrowed his gigantesque lorgnette, and espied a woman clad in Harondorin garb, exotic in her eight-legged beauty. Behind her, in the shadow, was traced a great silent shape, cloaked in a grey shadow, looming against the wavering light behind; in one hand it held a lorgnette, while the other held some nameless menace of power and doom.
