Patty Fairfield
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Patty Fairfield, by Carolyn Wells
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****
Title: Patty Fairfield
Author: Carolyn Wells
Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8456] [Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on July 12, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-Latin-1
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PATTY
FAIRFIELD ***
Produced by Charles Franks, Christopher Lund and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team
PATTY FAIRFIELD
By
CAROLYN WELLS
To My Little Friend
MARION AMES TAGGART
Contents
CHAP.
I. Her Father's Plan II. Traveling North III. New Friends IV. Villa Rosa
V. A Minuet VI. Purple and Fine Linen. VII. A Sleigh-Ride VIII. An
Absent-Minded Cousin IX. The Flemings X. Patty's Pranks XI. The
Book Party XII. The Hurly-Burly XIII. Home-Made Music XIV. A
Funny Family XV. The Lawn-Party XVI. Unbounded Hospitality XVII.
A Hurly-Burly Fire XVIII. At Vernondale XIX. A Picnic XX. The
Rescue XXI. A Reading-Club XXII. A Welcome Guest
Patty Fairfield
CHAPTER I
HER FATHER'S PLAN
"How old are you, Patty?" asked her father, abruptly.
"Fourteen, papa,--why?"
"My conscience! what a great girl you're getting to be. Stand up and let
me look at you."
Patty Fairfield, with two twists and a spring, brought herself to her feet,
and stood awaiting her father's inspection.
He saw a slender, graceful girl, a Southern blonde of the purest type.
Her pretty golden hair would gladly have hung in curly masses, but it
was only allowed to have its own sweet will around her temples and at
the end of a long thick braid. Her eyes were blue, deep and twinkly, and
the rest of her face was as pretty and sweet as soft girlish contours and
a perfect complexion could make it.
But best of all was the gentle expression and frank, good-natured smile
which so often broke into mischievous dimples.
It did on this occasion, and Patty laughed merrily at her father's grave
consideration of her.
"What is it, papa?" she asked. "Did you think I was still an infant, and
were you going to buy me a new dolls' house? Or were you going to
take me to the circus? I'm not a bit too old for the circus."
"Aren't you? Then I will take you, but what is on my mind at present is
a much more serious matter. Sit down again, Puss, and I'll tell you all
about it.
"You know for years I've looked forward to the time when you should
grow up to be old enough to keep house for me. And I thought then
we'd go back North and settle down among my people and your
mother's relatives. I haven't been North since your mother died, but
now I want to go, and I want you to spend the rest of your life there. In
many ways it will be better for you than Virginia. You will have more
advantages; your life will be broader and more varied. Now I can't be
ready to leave here for good in less than a year; I want to sell out my
lumber interests and settle up my business affairs.
"But I am continually receiving letters from your aunts,--you have lots
of aunts, Patty,--and they are apparently all anxious that you shall visit
them. So, if you consent, this is my plan. You've never traveled any,
have you, Puss?"
"Never been out of Virginia in my life, papa."
"No? Well, you ought to see a little of how the rest of the world lives
and moves. So I think I'll let you visit in the North for a year,--say three
months with each of your four aunts,--and then next fall I'll be ready to
join you, and we'll buy a house and you shall be mistress of it."
"A home of our own? Oh, papa, I'd like that lots!"
"Yes, so would I. As we have always lived in boarding-houses since
![](qr/4704/1.png)
Continue reading on your phone by scaning this QR Code
Tip: The current page has been bookmarked automatically. If you wish to continue reading later, just open the
Dertz Homepage, and click on the 'continue reading' link at the bottom of the page.