My future

The loss of my great aunt has reminded me that I must earn a living if Papa were to die. He asked me why I was practising my gallanteries with such zeal and such determination. 'Your death,' I replied. 'Not yet,' he said. 'Not yet,' I agreed. "But when it happens, I will become a music teacher in Salzburg to pay for a pie.' He laughed and said, 'Over my dead body.' Exactly.