But Nan had run away from the fire of questions, and Patty drew herself up out of her chair, stretched and yawned like a sleepy kitten, and then proceeded to make her toilette with expedition and despatch.
But as she sat in front of her dressing table, piling her gold hair into a soft crown above her pretty face, she frowned at her own reflection.
“You’re a stupid idiot,” she informed herself. “You don’t know anything! And you haven’t an ounce of brains! Now, what is it of which the poor have two, the rich have none, schoolboys have several, and you have one. Well, I can’t think of a thing but mumps or measles; and, of course, they’re not the answer, and you couldn’t have one measle, anyhow.”
As she dressed, Patty took hasty glances in the little book, and finally she left her room and walked slowly downstairs, murmuring, “Divide nine into two equal parts, which, added together, make ten.”
But when she reached the drawing-room door, all the puzzling problems flew out of her mind, and she went in gracefully to greet Nan’s guests.
As Patty was not yet out in society, she did not have her name on the card with her stepmother’s, but she always assisted Nan in receiving, and informally asked a number of her own friends to call, too.
This was Nan’s last reception day for the season, so it was a little more elaborate than others had been.
Patty wore an embroidered white chiffon, which delicate material clouded bows and bands of pale-blue satin. It was a lovely frock, and just suited Patty’s blonde fairness. She went around among her mother’s friends, greeting them with pretty courtesy, and chatting easily with them. But, after a time, her own young friends came, and, with the two Farringtons and Kenneth Harper, Patty went to the library, where they could be by themselves.
Soon, Mr. Hepworth came, bringing Christine Farley.
Christine had been in New York only a few weeks, but already she had lost much of her painful shyness, and, though still easily embarrassed by the presence of strangers, she usually managed to preserve her poise and self-control.