“In just what way, Miss Kent?” asked Fred Fairfield, his keen eyes taking in the visitor’s every move.
“Oh, she can sing, you know; and she’s a looker, all right; and she has charm—oh, yes, decided charm.”
“And is this enough, you think, to assure Mr. Stengel’s giving her, say, a ten-year contract as a prima donna?”
“Well, hardly that!” and Maude laughed, heartily. “You men will have your little joke. But he would give her a good place in the chorus to start with, and doubtless Patty would work up. Oh, yes, she could work up, I feel sure. Patty is not afraid of hard work, are you, dearie?”
“And it is as a chorus girl that Mr. Stengel wishes to engage Patty?” Fred Fairfield’s voice was quiet, but his eyes shot gleams of indignation.
“Why, yes, Mr. Fairfield; she couldn’t expect a higher position at first.”
“And would she be assured of having it in time?”
“If she caught on with the public,—or, if Mr. Stengel took a liking to her personally——”
“That will do, Miss Kent. I’m sure you will forgive me if I decline to pursue this subject further. My daughter most certainly will not go into any venture of Mr. Stengel’s, or accept any other position on the stage. The incident is closed.”
There was something in Fred Fairfield’s face that forbade the indignant rejoinder Maude Kent was about to make. And it was with a sudden accession of dignity that she rose to her feet and drew her wrap about her.