Patty was still giggling when her parents came in from a concert they had been attending.
"What IS the matter, Patty?" asked Nan. "Why do you sit up here alone, grinning like a Chessy cat, and giggling like a school-girl? Were the Hepworths so funny that you can"t get over it?"
And then Patty told Nan and her father the whole story of Kit Cameron and the telephone.
Nan laughed in sympathy, but Mr. Fairfield looked a little dubious.
"And I thought you a well-brought up young woman," he said,--half in earnest and half in jest. "Do you think it"s correct to telephone to strange young men? I"m shocked! that"s what I am,--SHOCKED."
"Fiddlesticks, Fred," said Nan; "it"s perfectly all right. In the first place, the man HAS been introduced to Patty. She met him at Miss Homer"s."
"But she telephoned BEFORE she met him," stormed Mr. Fairfield, for Patty had told the whole story.
"But she didn"t do it purposely," said Nan, impatiently. "She got him on the wire by mistake. She couldn"t help THAT. And, anyway, when he said he was Miss Homer"s cousin, that made it all right. I think it"s a gay little joke, and I"d like to see that young man"s face when he meets Patty!"
"I shan"t meet him," said Patty, pretending to look doleful; "he hates tow-headed girls."
"Well, you"re certainly that," said her father, looking at her with pretended disapproval. "I have to tell you the truth once in awhile, because everybody else flatters you until you"re a spoiled baby."
"Tow-headed, am I?" and Patty ran to her father, and rubbed her golden curls against his own blond head. "And, if you please, where did I inherit my tow? If I hadn"t had a tow-headed father I might have been the poppy-cheeked brunette that everybody admires. It isn"t fair for YOU to comment on MY tow-head!"
"That"s so, Pattikins; and I take it all back," for Mr. Fairfield could never resist his pretty daughter"s cajolery. "You are a pretty little doll-faced thing, and I expect I"ll have to forgive your very reprehensible behaviour."
"I"m NOT a doll-face," said Patty, pouting; "I shan"t let you go until you take THAT back."
As Patty had her arms tightly round her father"s neck, he considered it the better part of valour to take back his words. "All right," he said, "rather than be garroted,--I retract! You"re a beautiful and dignified lady, and your notions of convention and etiquette are above reproach."
"They"re above YOUR reproaches, anyhow," returned Patty, saucily, and then she ran away to her own room.
CHAPTER IV
A PERFECTLY GOOD JOKE
Patty decided to do nothing in the matter of meeting Kit Cameron. She dearly loved a joke, and this seemed to her a good one. But she thought it would spoil it, if she made any move in the game herself. So she bided her time, and it was perhaps a week later that Marie Homer came to call on her.
As Marie hadn"t the slightest notion that Patty was the girl her cousin had in mind, the subject was not mentioned until just before Marie left, when she asked Patty if she would come to her home the next week to a little musicale.
"Not a big party," said Miss Homer, "just a dozen or so really musical people to spend the evening. And I want you to sing, if you will. My cousin will be there,--the one who plays the violin."
"I thought he detested society," said Patty, her eyes twinkling a little.
"I don"t know what"s come over Kit," returned Marie, looking perplexed.
"He"s been the funniest thing of late. He has some girl in his mind--"
"A girl!" exclaimed Patty; "I thought he scorned them."
"Well, I can"t make this out. It"s awfully mysterious. I think I"ll tell you about it."
"Do," said Patty, demurely.
"Two or three weeks ago,--in fact, it was the day after my valentine party,--Kit asked me which of my friends had telephoned me late the night before. You know he lives in the apartment just above ours, and it seems the wires were crossed or something, but he heard this girl"s voice, and now he insists he wants to meet her. I don"t think Elise Farrington has such a fascinating voice, do you?" "Elise!" exclaimed Patty, in pretended surprise; "what has SHE to do with it?"
"Why," explained Marie, "Elise did call me up that night, to say she had left her scarf. But how Kit discovered that she was a red-cheeked brunette, is more than _I_ can understand. You can"t know that from a voice, now, can you?"
"No," said Patty, decidedly, "you CAN"T!"
"Well, then, a week or two went by, and I told Elise about this, but somehow I couldn"t manage to get them together. Every time Elise came to our house, Kit would be away somewhere. But a few days ago I did manage to have them meet."
"Did you?" exclaimed Patty; "for gracious sake, WHAT happened?"
Marie looked a little surprised at Patty"s excited interest, but she went on: "Oh, it was AWFULLY funny. Elise looked lovely that day. She had just come in from skating, and her cheeks were red and her eyes sparkled, and her furs were SO becoming! I introduced Kit, and I could see he admired her immensely. There were several people there, so I left these two together. They were getting on famously, when Kit said to her, "Are you still a Captive Princess?"
"I didn"t know what he meant, and Elise didn"t either, for she looked perfectly blank, and asked him why he said that. And Kit told her she knew well enough why he said it, and Elise thought he must be crazy.
However, they got along all right until Kit asked me to get Elise to sing. Now, you know Elise doesn"t sing much; she has a nice little contralto voice, but she never sings for people. But do you know, she was perfectly willing, and she sang a little lullaby or something like that, rather sweetly, _I_ thought. But such a change came over Kit"s manner! I don"t know how to express it. He was polite and courteous, of course; but he seemed to have lost all interest in Elise."
"But your cousin IS a sort of a freak, isn"t he?" said Patty, who was deeply interested in Marie"s story.
"Why, no, he isn"t a freak. He"s a musician, but he"s an awfully nice chap, and real sensible. He hates society as a bunch, but he often likes an individual here and there, and when he does he can be awfully nice and friendly. But this whole performance was so QUEER. He wanted to meet Elise, and when he did, he admired her, I could see that; but when she sang, the light all went out of his face, and he looked terribly disappointed. The girl isn"t a great singer, but why in the world should he expect her to be, or care so much because she isn"t?"
"It IS strange!" murmured Patty; "how did Elise take it?"
"Oh, I don"t think she minded much; she thinks the boy half crazy, anyway; asking her if she was a captive princess! And, of course, he didn"t let HER see that he was disappointed in her voice. But I know Kit so well, that I can tell the moment he loses interest in anybody.
I"m awfully fond of Kit,--we"ve grown up more like brother and sister than cousins."
"What"s he like? Has he any fun in him?"
"Well, he loves practical jokes,--that is, if they"re not mean. He couldn"t do a mean or unkind thing to anybody. But he likes anything out of the ordinary. Escapades or cutting up jinks. He and Beatrice,--that"s my younger sister,--are always playing tricks on us, when she"s at home. But it"s always good-natured fun, so we don"t mind.
Oh, Kit"s a dear; but you never can tell whether he"s going to like people or not. He likes so very few."
"But he liked Elise?"
"Oh, yes; in a general way. But, for some reason I can"t make out, he was terribly disappointed in her."
"And he"s going to play at your musicale?"
"Yes; and I want you to sing. We have two or three other musicians, and it will really be rather worth while."
Patty hesitated. If she went to this party, and met Kit, all the mystery of her little romance with him would be ended. He would be more disappointed in her than he had been in Elise, for at least she conformed to his favourite type of beauty, and Patty was quite the reverse. She could sing, to be sure, but probably her voice would not charm him, when robbed of the glamour lent by the telephone.
"Oh, DO say yes," Marie urged; "it will be a nice party, and if I"ve left out any people you specially want, I"ll invite them."
But Marie"s list included all of Patty"s set, and as she rather wanted to go, she finally decided to say yes.
"Good for you!" exclaimed Marie; "now I know the party will be a success!"