When Peter returns to England, there is steel in his voice, an edge of command and authority that makes all within hearing of his voice turn and listen to him—headmasters and schoolboys alike.
No one can explain it: The headmasters turn away afterwards and shuffle their papers, their brows furrowing in confusion—why had they stopped what they were doing to listen to a mere schoolboy?—and Peter’s classmates scrub at their faces and cast furtive sidelong glances at each other—had everyone else turned to listen to him?—but none understand the draw of his voice, and it is soon forgotten, until it occurs again and is forgotten again, and the phenomenon continues on.
It is not long before Peter rises to prominence at his school, pushed up through the schoolboy ranks on the swell of popular opinion—is it simply charisma or charm? everyone wonders, though they do not say it—and his voice grants him favor with the headmasters, who commend him so admirably that prestigious universities send him letter after letter, each seeking to claim him as their own, to be the image of their university and to be the alumnus that other universities whisper about with envy; and when news spreads of a terrible train accident that stole the life of such a promising young man, all who had ever heard Peter’s voice grieve, though they know not why.
Peter
No one can explain it: The headmasters turn away afterwards and shuffle their papers, their brows furrowing in confusion—why had they stopped what they were doing to listen to a mere schoolboy?—and Peter’s classmates scrub at their faces and cast furtive sidelong glances at each other—had everyone else turned to listen to him?—but none understand the draw of his voice, and it is soon forgotten, until it occurs again and is forgotten again, and the phenomenon continues on.
It is not long before Peter rises to prominence at his school, pushed up through the schoolboy ranks on the swell of popular opinion—is it simply charisma or charm? everyone wonders, though they do not say it—and his voice grants him favor with the headmasters, who commend him so admirably that prestigious universities send him letter after letter, each seeking to claim him as their own, to be the image of their university and to be the alumnus that other universities whisper about with envy; and when news spreads of a terrible train accident that stole the life of such a promising young man, all who had ever heard Peter’s voice grieve, though they know not why.