And so she was. After the first dazed moment, she stepped forward, and offering her hand, said cordially:
“Welcome, Peter Pan! We are indeed glad to see you. We’re sorry you couldn’t come earlier, but pray fall right into place with the rest of our little guests.”
It was the nature of Sir Otho Markleham to do thoroughly whatever he did at all.
So, now, throwing himself into the spirit of the moment, he made friends with the young people at once. He entertained them with stories of his thrilling adventures with the pirates; he told them how he lost his shadow, he explained all about Fairies, and soon the other guests were all crowded about him, listening breathlessly to his talk.
Lady Hamilton, standing a little to one side of the listening group, looked at her father. She realised at once what it all meant. She knew that Patty had persuaded him to come, and that it meant complete reconciliation between father and daughter. The whole matter could be discussed later, if they chose, but the mere presence of her father beneath her roof meant forgiveness and peace between them.
Softly Patty came up beside her and clasped her hand. “You’re a witch,” whispered Lady Hamilton, as she warmly returned the pressure. “How did you ever accomplish this?”
“Never mind that, now,” said Patty, her eyes shining. “Are you glad?”
“Glad! Yes, only that’s a short word to express my joy and my gratitude to you. But you took a risk! Suppose I had fainted, or done something foolish in my great surprise.”
“Oh, I knew you better than that,” returned Patty. “Isn’t he a dear in that Peter Pan suit? And, only think, he took off his beloved ‘sideboards,’ so he’d look the character better.”
“They’ll soon grow again,” said Lady Hamilton, carelessly; “but what I can’t understand is why he came at all.”