"You always say that to me," said Patty, laughing. "_I_ don"t make parties a success."
"Yes, you do," said Marie, in a tone of firm conviction; "you"re so nice, and pretty, and smiling, and always seem to have such a good time, that it makes everybody else have a good time."
"What do you want me to sing?"
"I don"t care at all. Make your own selections. I like you best, I think, in some of those sweet, simple ballads."
"I rarely sing anything but ballads or simple music," said Patty, "my voice isn"t strong enough for operatic soaring."
"Well, sing what you like, Patty, if you only come," and Marie went away, greatly elated at having secured Patty"s consent to sing at her musicale.
Patty at once went to the piano, and began to look over her music. She smiled as she came across "Beware," but she concluded that would not do for a regular program, though she might use it as an encore.
She made her selections with care, as she honestly wanted to do credit to Marie"s musicale, and then, taking several pieces of music, she ran up to Nan"s room to ask her final judgment in the matter.
"You"ll have a lot of fun out of this, Patty," said Nan, laughing, as she heard the whole story. "When is it to be?"
"Friday night. Do you know, Nan, I"d like to play a joke on that boy, between now and then."
"I think you are playing a joke on him,--and, besides, he isn"t a boy."
"No; Marie says he"s about twenty-four. He"s a civil engineer, besides being a musician. But, anyway, I"ve got him guessing. I"m glad Elise didn"t take it to heart, that she wasn"t the right girl,--but Marie says Elise thinks he"s a freak, anyway. And, too, I believe he"s not very nice to girls as a rule, so of course Elise won"t want him. Oh, _I_"M the only girl in the world for him!"
Patty pirouetted about the room on the tips of her toes, waving a sheet of music in either hand.
"What a silly you are, Patty, with your foolishness!"
Patty dropped on one knee at her stepmother"s side, and clasping her hands, looked up beseechingly into the smiling face over her.
"But you love silly, foolish little girls, don"t you, Nancy Nan?"
"Yes, when they"re you," and Nan patted the shining head at her knee.
"Well, very few of them ARE me!"
"Thank goodness for that! I don"t know what I"d do if you were a half a dozen!"
"You"d have just six times as much fun in your life!" and Patty jumped up and began to sing the songs she had brought.
Then together they decided on the ones she should sing at the musicale.
Although Patty"s voice was not very strong, it was sweet and true and had been carefully cultivated. She sang with much charm, and her music always gave pleasure. She never attempted anything beyond her powers, and so her songs, while selected with good taste, were not pretentious.
That evening, while Patty was fluttering around her room, pretending to get ready for bed, but really dawdling, she was moved to telephone once again to the young man who was fond of jokes.
"It"s you, is it?" he almost growled, in response to her call.
"Yes," said Patty, in a meek little voice; "shall I go away?"
"Great jumping cows! NO! Don"t go away, stay right where you are!"
"But I"m going away for ever," said Patty, moved by a dramatic impulse; "my captors have found out that I"m holding communication with you, and they"re going to take me away to another castle, and imprison me there."
"Stop your fooling; I want to know who you are, and I want to know it quick! Do you hear THAT?"
"Yes, I hear," returned Patty, saucily, "but I don"t have to answer!
And if you talk to me like that, I shall hang up this receiver."
"I won"t talk like that any more. But, do you know, I thought I had found you, and you turned out to be somebody else."
"But I can"t be anybody else. I"m only myself."
"Be serious a minute, won"t you? I went to my cousin"s and met a beautiful, poppy-cheeked princess; but she wasn"t you."
"How do you know she wasn"t?"
"Because she couldn"t sing a LITTLE bit! And you can."
"I can sing a LITTLE bit! Oh, thank you!"
"Now, I want to ask you something. You know my cousin, don"t you?"
"Have you sisters and cousins, whom you reckon up by dozens?"
"It doesn"t matter if I have. I mean my cousin, Marie Homer, to whom you telephoned, or tried to, on the fourteenth of February. But you got me, instead, and that means we"re each other"s valentine. See?"
"No, I don"t see at all. I only like pretty valentines."
"Oh, I"m as pretty as a picture! That part is all right. Now, I"ve tried my best to find out who you are, from Marie. But either she can"t or won"t tell. But I"ve found out one thing, for certain. You"re NOT Miss Farrington."
"No, I"m not; but I never said I was."
"I know you didn"t, but you told me you were a pretty brunette, with poppy cheeks,--and Miss Farrington is that."
"Did I tell you I was PRETTY? Oh, I"m SURE I didn"t!"
"You didn"t have to. I know that myself. Now, if you"ll keep still a minute, _I_"D like to speak."
"If I can"t talk, I may as well hang up this receiver, for I"m sure I don"t want to sit here and listen to you."
"Chatterbox! Now, listen; Marie is having a musicale next Friday night, and I want you to come."
"Without an invitation!" Patty"s voice sounded horrified.
"Yes;" impatiently. "Marie would invite you fast enough if she knew who you were."
"Perhaps she HAS invited me."