“What a flutter-budget you are, Patty,” said Nan, appearing at the doorway2, and pausing to watch Patty’s erratic3 movements.
Patty flew across the room and greeted her stepmother with an affectionate squeeze, and then flew back and dropped comfortably on the couch, tucking one foot under her, and thereby4 dropping off a little blue silk boudoir slipper5 as she did so.
“Oh, Nan!” she began, “it was the most exciting 126 party ever! What do you think? Christine and Mr. Hepworth are engaged!”
“Christine! and Gilbert Hepworth!” and Nan was quite as surprised at the news as Patty could desire.
“Yes, isn’t it great! and oh, Nan, what do you think? Christine was all broken up,—crying in fact,—because,—did you ever know anything so ridiculous?—because she thought she was taking him away from me!”
Nan looked at Patty a little curiously6. “Well; you must know, Patty, he certainly thought a great deal of you.”
“Of course he did! And of course he does!—You speak as if he were dead!—and I think a great deal of him, and I think a heap of Christine, and I think they are perfectly7 suited to each other, and I think it’s all just lovely! Don’t you?”
“Yes,” said Nan, slowly. “Then, you didn’t care for him especially, Patty?”
“Good gracious, Nan, if you mean was I in love with him, I sure was not! Little girls like me don’t fall in love with elderly gentlemen; and this particular little girl isn’t falling in love anyway. Why, Nan, I’m only just out, and I do perfectly adore being out! I want three or 127 four years of good, solid outness before I even think of falling in love with anybody. Of course I shall marry eventually, and be a beautiful, lovely housekeeper8, just exactly like you. But, if you remember, my lady, you were some few years older than nineteen when you married my revered9 father.”
“That’s true enough, Patty, and I can tell you I’m glad I didn’t accept any of the young men who asked me before Fred did.”
“I’m jolly glad, too; and father was in luck when he got you. But you’re not going to be rid of me yet for a long time, I can tell you that much. Well, more things happened last night. Philip and I made up our quarrel,—which wasn’t much of a quarrel anyway,—and Roger and Mona are pretty much at peace again; though, if Mona keeps on with that Lansing idiot, Roger won’t stand it much longer. And I’m going to the opera to-night in the Van Reypen box, and I’m going skating to-morrow,—oh, there’s the mail!”
Patty jumped up and ran to take the letters from Jane, who brought in a trayful.
“Quite a bunch for you, Nansome,” and Patty tossed a lot of letters in Nan’s lap. “And a whole lot of beautiful, fat envelopes for me. 128 ’Most all invitations, as you can see at a glance. Two or three requests for charity,—they show on the outside, too. A few bills, a few circulars and advertisements, and all the rest invitations. Isn’t it gorgeous, Nan, to be invited to such heaps of things?”
“Don’t wear yourself out, Patty,” returned Nan, a little absent-mindedly, being absorbed in a letter from her mother.
Having weeded out the more interesting looking letters, Patty returned to her sofa, and curled up there with both feet under her, looking like a very pretty and very civilised little Turk. With a slender paper cutter she slashed10 all the envelopes, and then went through them one by one, making running comments of delight or indifference11 as she read the various contents.
But suddenly a more excited exclamation12 broke from her. “Oh, my goodness, gracious, sakes alive!” she cried. “Nan, will you listen to this!”
“Wait a minute, honey, till I finish this letter,” and Nan went on reading to herself.
Patty dashed through eight pages of sprawly penmanship, and as soon as she finished she read it all over again. 129
“Now, Miss Fairfield, what’s it all about?” and Nan folded her own letter and returned it to its envelope.
“Well, in a nutshell, it’s a Christmas Country House Party! Could anything be more delightfuller?”
“Who, where, what, when?” And Nan patiently awaited further enlightenment.
“Oh, Nan, it’s too gorgeous!” And Patty’s eyes ran through the letter again. “You know Adèle Kenerley, who was down at Mona’s last summer,—well, she and Jim have bought a place at Fern Falls,—wherever that may be,—somewhere up in Connecticut,—in the Berkshires, you know. Heavenly in summer, dunno what it’ll be in winter. But all the same that’s where the house party is, Christmas,—stay two or three weeks,—all our crowd,—oh, Nan! isn’t it beatific13!”
Patty bounded to her feet, and gathering14 up the sides of her accordion-pleated gown, she executed a triumphant15 dance about the room, winding16 up by kicking her little blue silk slipper straight over Nan’s head.
“Moderate your transports, my love,” Nan said, calmly. “I don’t want concussion17 of the brain, from being hit by a French heel.” 130
“Not much of a compliment to my skilful18 ballet dancing,” and Patty flung herself into the cushions again. “But, Nan, you don’t understand; everybody’s going! Elise and Mona and the boys, and oh, gracious, do show some enthusiasm!”
“Don’t have to,” said Nan, smiling, “when you show enough for a dozen.”
“Well, I’ll call up Mona, she’ll have something to say.”
Patty reached for the telephone, and in a few moments both girls were talking at once, and the conversation ran something like this:
“Yes, I did, and, Patty——”
“Of course I am! Oh, I don’t know about that! If I——”
“But of course if Daisy is there——”
“Well, we can’t help that, and anyway——”
“Tuesday, I suppose; but Adèle said——”
“No, Monday, Mona, for us, and the boys——”
“I’m not sure that I’ll go. You see——”
“Now, stop such nonsense! Of course he isn’t invited, but I’ll never speak to you again if——”
“Oh, of course I will, but I’ll only stay——” 131
“Yes, all our best frocks, and lots of presents and, oh, Mona, come on over here, do. There’s oceans of things to talk about!”
“All right, I will. Good-bye.”
“Good-bye.” And Patty hung up the receiver. “She’s coming over here, Nan; there’s so much to plan for, you know. Do help me, won’t you? A regular Christmas tree, and all that, you know; and presents for everybody, and a dance at the country club, and I don’t know what all.”
“Yes, you will have a lovely time.” And Nan smiled with sympathy at the excited girl, whose sparkling eyes and tumbled hair betokened19 her state of mind.
Mona came over and spent the rest of the day, and plans were made and unmade and remade with startling rapidity.
Mona began to voice regrets that Mr. Lansing was not invited to the house party, but Patty interrupted at once:
“Now, Mona Galbraith, you stop that! Adèle has a lovely party made up, and you’re not going to spoil it by even so much as a reference to that man! Roger will be there for Christmas, and if that isn’t enough for you, you can stay home!” 132
“Isn’t Elise going?”
“No, she can’t. She’s going South next week with her mother, and I doubt if Philip Van Reypen will go. His aunt won’t want him to leave her at the holidays. Do you know, I’m a little sorry Daisy Dow is up there.”
“You don’t like her, do you, Patty?”
“I would, if she’d like me. But she’s always snippy to me.”
“’Cause she’s jealous of you,” observed Mona, sapiently20.
“Nonsense! She has no reason to be. I never interfere21 with her.”
“Well, never mind, don’t let her bother you. Hal Ferris will be there. You don’t know him, do you? He’s Adèle’s brother.”
“No, I never met him. She wrote that he’d be there.”
“He’s the dearest boy. Well, he’s older than Adèle, but he seems like a boy,—he’s so full of capers22. Adèle says it’s a beautiful big house, just right for a jolly, old-fashioned Christmas party.”
The days simply flew by as Christmas drew nearer. There was so much to do socially, and then there were the Happy Saturday Afternoons 133 to be planned and carried out, and the Christmas shopping to be done.
This last was greatly added to because of the house party, for Patty knew the generosity23 of her hosts, and she wanted to do her share in the presentation festivities.
She undertook to dress a huge doll for baby May. Nan helped her with this or she never could have finished the elaborate wardrobe. She selected a beautiful doll, of goodly size, but not big enough to be cumbersome24 to little two-year-old arms. With her knack25 for dressmaking and her taste for colour, she made half a dozen dainty and beautiful frocks, and also little coats and hats, and all the various accessories of a doll’s outfit26.
She bought a doll’s trunk and suit-case to contain these things, and added parasol, furs, jewelry27, and all the marvellous little trinkets that the toy shop afforded.
“I spent so much time and thought on this doll,” said Patty, one day, “that I shall have to buy things for the others. I can’t sew any more, Nan; my fingers are all like nutmeg graters now.”
“Poor child,” sympathised Nan. “You have worked hard, I know, but Adèle will appreciate 134 it more than if you had made something for herself. By all means buy the rest of your gifts.”
So Patty bought a beautiful luncheon28 set of filet29 lace and embroidery30 for Mrs. Kenerley, and an Oriental antique paper cutter for her husband.
She bought a handsome opera bag for Mona and a similar one for Daisy Dow, that there might be no rivalry31 there. She bought a few handsome and worth-while books for the men who would be at the party, and attractive trinkets for the house servants.
Of course, in addition to these, she had to prepare a great many gifts for her New York friends, as well as for her own family and many of her relatives. But both Patty and Nan enjoyed shopping, and went about it with method and common sense.
“I can’t see,” said Patty, as they started off in the car one morning, “why people make such a bugbear of Christmas shopping. I think it’s easy enough.”
“Perhaps it’s because you have plenty of money, Patty. You know, not every one has such a liberal father as you have.” 135
Patty looked thoughtful. “I don’t think it’s that, Nan; at least, not entirely32. I think it’s more common sense, and not being fussy33. Now, I give lots of presents that cost very little; and then, of course, I give a lot of expensive ones, too. But it’s just as easy to buy the cheap ones, if not easier. You just make up your mind what you want to spend for a certain present, and then you buy the nicest thing you see for that amount. It’s when people fuss and bother, and can’t make up their minds among half a dozen different things, that they get worried and bothered about Christmas. I do believe most of their trouble comes from lack of decision, which is only another way of saying that they haven’t common sense or even common gumption34!”
“Well, Patty, whatever else you may lack, you certainly have common sense and gumption; I’ll give you credit for them.”
“Thank you, Nan; much obliged, I’m sure. I wish I could return the compliment, but sometimes I think you haven’t much of those things yourself.”
Nan flashed a smile at Patty, entirely unmoved by this criticism; for she knew that she was vacillating and sometimes undecided, as compared 136 to Patty’s quick-witted grasp of a subject and instantaneous decision.
“Have I told you,” said Patty, “what we’re going to do next Saturday afternoon? I do think it’s going to be lovely. And I do hope it won’t make the girls mad, but I don’t think it will. You know, Nan, what an awful lot of things we all get every Christmas that we don’t want and can’t use, although they’re awfully35 pretty and nice. We just lay them away in cupboards, and there they stay. Well, on Saturday, we’re going to take a lot of these things and give them to people.”
“For Christmas presents? Why, Christmas is two weeks off yet.”
“That’s just it! Not for presents to themselves, but presents for them to give to other people.”
“Oh, I begin to see.”
“Yes; it isn’t the least bit charity, you see. Why, one of the people I’m going to give things to, is Christine. With her work, and being engaged and all, she hasn’t any time to make things, or even to go shopping, and she can’t afford to buy much, anyway. So I’m going to give her one or two beautiful silk bags that were given to me two or three years ago. 137 They’re perfectly fresh, never been out of their boxes. And I’m going to give her one or two beautiful, fine handkerchiefs in boxes, and two or three lovely books, and two or three pieces of bric-a-brac, and a Japanese ivory carving36. Don’t you see, Nan, she can give these to her friends for Christmas, and it will save her a lot of trouble and expense. And dear knows, I don’t want them! My rooms are chock-a-block with just such things, now. And I know she won’t feel offended, when I tell her about it straightforwardly37.”
“Of course she won’t be offended with you, Patty; and I think the idea is lovely. I’ve a lot of things put away I’ll give you. I never thought of such a thing before.”
“The girls thought at first that maybe it might not work, but I talked them around and now they’re all in for it. I’m going to take some things to Mrs. Greene. I’ve quite a lot for her, and I’ll tell her she can give them all away, or keep some herself, just as she likes. And I’ve things for Rosy38, that freckled-faced boy, you know. I have games and picture-puzzles and books that I used to have myself. Of course they’re all perfectly new. I wouldn’t give anything that had been used at all. And we’re 138 going Saturday afternoon to take these things around. Mona has lovely things, and so has Elise. You see, we get so many Christmas and birthday presents, and card party prizes, and such things, and I do think it’s sensible to make use of them for somebody’s pleasure instead of sticking them away in dark cupboards. And, Nan, what do you think?—with each lot of things we’re going to give a dozen sheets of white tissue paper and a bolt of holly39 ribbon and some little tags so they can fix up real Christmassy presents to give away.”
“Patty, you’re a wonder,” said Nan, looking affectionately at the girl beside her. “How do you think of all these things?”
“Common sense and general gumption,” returned Patty. “Very useful traits, I find ’em. And here we are at our first shopping place.”
Assisted by Patty’s common sense and expeditious40 judgment41, they accomplished42 a great deal that morning, and returned home with their lists considerably43 shortened.
“It does seem funny,” said Patty, that same afternoon, “to be tying up these things almost two weeks ahead of time. But with all the newspapers and magazines urging you to do 139 your shopping early, and send off your parcels early, you can’t really do otherwise.”
Patty was surrounded by presents of all sorts, boxes of all sizes, pieces of ribbon, and all sorts of cards and tags.
“I’m sick and tired of holly ribbon and red ribbon,” she said, as she deftly44 tied up her parcels. “So, this year, I’m using white satin ribbon and gilt45 cord. It’s an awfully pretty combination, and these little green and gilt tags are lovely, don’t you think?”
Her audience, which consisted of Elise and Mona, were watching her work with admiration46. They had offered to help, but after an ineffectual attempt to meet Patty’s idea of how a box should be tied up, they abandoned the effort, and sat watching her nimble fingers fly.
“You ought to get a position in some shop where they advertise, ‘only experienced parcel wrappers need apply,’” said Elise. “I never saw such neat parcels.”
“You’re evidently going to be an old maid,” said Mona, “you’re so fussy and tidy.”
“I do like things tidy,” admitted Patty, “and if that interferes47 with my having a husband, why, of course I’ll have to give him up. For I can’t stand not having things neat about me.” 140
“Do you call this room neat?” asked Elise, smiling as she looked about at the scattered48 boxes and papers, cut strings49, and little piles of shredded50 tissue.
“Yes, I do,” declared Patty, stoutly51. “This kind of stuff can be picked up in a jiffy, and then the room is all in order. This is temporary, you see. By untidiness, I mean dirt and dust, and bureau drawers in a mess, and desks in disorder52.”
“That’s me,” confessed Mona, cheerfully. “Not the dirt and dust, perhaps,—the maids look after that. But I just can’t keep my belongings53 in their places.”
“Neither can I,” said Elise. “I don’t see how you do it, Patty.”
“Oh, pshaw! it’s no credit to me, I just can’t help it. I’d have a fit if they weren’t all nice and in order. And if that means I’m going to be an old maid, I can’t help it,—and I don’t care!”
“Hoo-hoo!” said Elise.
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sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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slipper
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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beatific
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| adj.快乐的，有福的 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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betokened
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| v.预示，表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sapiently
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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capers
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| n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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cumbersome
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| adj.笨重的，不便携带的 | |
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knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
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outfit
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jewelry
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luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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filet
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| n.肉片；鱼片 | |
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embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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fussy
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gumption
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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straightforwardly
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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holly
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| n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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expeditious
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| adj.迅速的，敏捷的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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interferes
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| vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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shredded
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stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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belongings
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