Patty in Paris | Page 6

but I can afford it, for, as I
told you, my finances are looking up. And, too, I consider this a part of
your education, and so look upon it as a necessary outlay. But you must
remember that the Farringtons are far more wealthy people than we,
and though you can afford the necessary travelling expenses, you
probably cannot be as extravagant in the matter of personal expenditure
as they. I shall give you what I consider an ample allowance of pin
money, and then you must be satisfied with the number of pins it will
buy."
"That doesn't worry me," declared Patty. "I'm so delighted to go that I
don't care if I don't buy a thing over there."
"You'll change your mind when you get there and get into the
wonderful Paris shops," said her father, smiling; "but never fear, puss;
you'll have enough francs to buy all the pretty dresses and gewgaws
and knick- knacks that it's proper for a little girl like you to have. How
old are you now, Patty?"

"Almost eighteen, papa."
"Almost eighteen, indeed! You mean you're only fairly well past
seventeen. But it doesn't matter. Remember you're a little girl, and not a
society young lady, and conduct yourself accordingly."
"Mrs. Farrington will look out for that," said Nan; "she has the best
possible ideas about such things, and she brings up Elise exactly in
accordance with my notions of what is right."
"That settles it," said Mr. Fairfield; "I shall have no further anxiety on
that score since Nan approves of the outlook. But, Patty girl, we're
going to miss you here."
"Yes, indeed," cried Nan. "I hadn't realised that side of it. Oh, Patty, we
had planned so many things for this winter, and now I shall be alone all
day and every day!"
"Come on, and go with me," said Patty, mischievously.
"No," said Nan, smiling at her husband; "I have a stronger tie here even
than your delightful companionship. But truly we shall miss you
awfully."
"Of course you will," said Patty, "and I'll miss you, too. But we'll write
each other long letters, and oh! I do think the whole game is perfectly
lovely."
"So do I," agreed Nan; and then followed such a lot of feminine
planning and chatter that Mr. Fairfield declared his advice seemed not
to be needed.
The next morning Nan and Patty went over to the Farringtons to
discuss the great subject. They expressed to Mrs. Farrington their
hearty thanks for her kind invitation, but she insisted that the kindness
was all on Patty's side, as her company would be a great delight, not
only to Elise, but also to the elder members of the party.

"Isn't Roger going?" asked Patty.
"No," said Mrs. Farrington; "this is his last year in college, so of course
he can't leave. The other children are in school, too, so it seemed just
the right year for us to take Elise abroad for a little outing. A winter in
Paris will do both of you girls good in lots of ways, and if for any
reason we don't enjoy it, we can go somewhere else, or we can turn
around and come home, and no harm done." Although the trip seemed
such a great event to Patty, Mrs. Farrington appeared to look upon it
merely as a little outing, and seemed so thoroughly glad to have Patty
go with them that she almost made Patty feel as if she were conferring
the favour.
Elise and Patty went away by themselves to talk it all over, while Nan
stayed with Mrs. Farrington to discuss the more practical details.
"I didn't care a bit about going," said Elise, "until we thought about
your going too, and now I'm crazy to go. Oh, Patty, won't we have the
most gorgeous time!"
"Yes, indeed," said Patty; "I can hardly realise it yet. I'm perfectly
bewildered. Shall we go to school, Elise?"
"I don't think so, and yet we may. Mother's going to take a house, you
know, and then we'll either have masters every day, or go to some
school. Mother knows all about Paris. She has lived there a lot. But we
sha'n't have to study all the time, I know that much. We'll go sight-
seeing a good deal, and of course we'll go motoring."
"I shall enjoy the ocean trip," said Patty; "I've never been across, you
know. You've been a number of times, haven't you?"
"Yes, but not very lately. We used to go often when Roger and I were
little, but I haven't been over for six years, and then we weren't in
Paris."
"I'm sure I shall love Paris. Do you remember it well?"

"No; when I was there last I was too little to appreciate