Patty was bewildered at this outburst. Though she knew her duties would be light, she supposed they would be clearly defined, and not left to her own invention.
But she was anxious to please, and she said, pleasantly:
“I think that’s really what I meant, but I didn’t express myself very well. And, you see, I don’t yet quite know your tastes. Do you like fancy work? I know a lovely new crochet stitch I could show you.”
“No; I hate crocheting. The wool gets all snarled up, and the pattern gets wrong every few stitches.”
“Then we’ll dismiss that. Do you like to play cards? I know cribbage, and some other games that two can play.”
“No; I detest cards. I think it is very foolish to sit and fumble with bits of painted pasteboard!”
Poor Patty was at her wits’ end. She had not expected to be a professional entertainer, and she didn’t know what to suggest next.
She felt sure Mrs. Van Reypen wouldn’t care to listen to any more reading just then. She hesitated to propose music, as it had not been very successful the night before. On a sudden impulse, she said:
“Do you like to see dancing? I can do some pretty fancy dances.”
It seemed an absurd thing to say, but Patty had ransacked her brain to think what professional entertainers did, and that was all she could think of, except recitations, and those she hated herself.