“And now, Peaches, the Van Reypen incident is closed. Next, will you kindly tell me why you went in so strong for the Kent lady’s concert?”
“Two reasons, Billee,” said Patty, calmly. “First, and I hope most, because I was sorry for her, and wanted to help her out in her trouble. And second,——”
“Well?”
“Oh, because I’m a silly, vain thing, and I wanted to sing in public, and have people think I was Madame Thingamajig, and I like to have my voice praised,—and I’m just a little idiot!”
“You certainly are.”
“Why, Wil-yum Farns-worth! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”
“Not half so ashamed as you ought to be.”
“It isn’t a crime to be vain of your accomplishments, and I owned up I was silly. Do you hate silly people?”
“Sometimes, not always. But look here, Patty, seriously, you don’t want to be intimate with Maude Kent. She may be a nice girl, all right, but she has been an actress, and that is not the sort of people for you to associate with.”
“I guess you don’t know her very well, Bill; she is a noble self-sacrificing spirit, and she devotes her life to earning a living for herself and her mother and sister. I never knew a more devoted daughter and sister, than she is, and I adore her.”