745. While the music tutor had his head in the harpsichord, concentrating on getting it in tune Angela opened his viola case and Marie took out the instrument. Very quickly and deftly they loosened a peg, put a tiny bit of lard on it, pressed the peg back in its hole and put the instrument back in its case.
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746. They expected the music tutor, after he gave up on the harpsichord, would take out his viola and proceed to tune it up as he did every morning. They expected to delight in his frustration since the greased pin would not be able to hold the tension of the string.
747. What happened next utterly amazed the girls. The tutor opened the viola case and took one look at his instrument, in an instant he understood exactly what had happened. He said nothing at all but turned to Marie Antoinette and gave her a penetrating look. In that look was his awareness that all his frustration with the instruments was her fault.
748. Marie knew that musicians were great masters of their instruments, she knew that they could do with effortless ease things that others could never do in a lifetime, but she never realized that a musician would know his instrument with such intimacy that they would be aware in an instant if it had been tampered with.
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