[ His compliments do not seem to be in jest and after what he said to her before she accompanied Miss Darcy to the pianoforte, Mary is a bit at a loss to understand him. He thinks her pretty and in possession of a lovely singing voice? ]

This is too much praise, sir. I believe it possible that a singing voice can be flawed and the range at which one might sing is different than when one speaks. All I can say for myself is that I no longer sing when I perform, and I ask not to be persuaded otherwise. It is not false modesty on my part, but a genuine request to not be asked... by my friend.

[ The words come out far more easily than they once would have, when she would have tried to quickly plot out her words like the locations on a map towards her destination. These days her thoughts align more naturally instead of her needing to add a multitude of impressive adjectives to her speeches. ]