“Because of the Angel of Music, of course!⁠ ⁠…”

“I don’t follow⁠ ⁠…”

“Yes, he forbids her to!⁠ ⁠…”

“He forbids her!⁠ ⁠… The Angel of Music forbids her to marry!⁠ ⁠…”

“Oh, he forbids her⁠ ⁠… without forbidding her. It’s like this: he tells her that, if she got married, she would never hear him again. That’s all!⁠ ⁠… And that he would go away forever!⁠ ⁠… So, you understand, she can’t let the Angel of Music go. It’s quite natural.”

“Yes, yes,” echoed Raoul submissively, “it’s quite natural.”

“Besides, I thought Christine had told you all that, when she met you at Perros, where she went with her good genius.”

“Oh, she went to Perros with her good genius, did she?”