EDDIE BELL
"Which do you like best of all the boys you've met?" asked Kit, as they
danced.
"What a question! How can I possibly tell, when a dozen well-behaved
and serious-looking young men stand up like a class in school and say,
one after another, 'May I have the honour of a dance, Miss Fairfield?'
They all looked exactly alike to me. Except one. There was one boy, who
looks so much like me he might be my brother. I never had a brother,
and I've a good notion to adopt him as one."
"Don't! There's nothing so dangerous as adopting a young man for a
brother! But I know who you mean,--Eddie Bell. He doesn't look a bit
like you, but he HAS yellow curls and blue eyes."
"And pink cheeks," supplemented Patty.
"Yes, but not poppy cheeks; they're more the pink of a--of
a--horsechestnut!"
"I think pink horsechestnut blooms are beautiful."
"Oh, you do, do you? And I suppose you think Eddie Bell is beautiful!"
"Well, there's no occasion for you to get mad about it if I do. Do you
know, Mr. Cameron, you flare up very easily."
"If you'll call me Kit, I'll promise never to flare up again."
"Certainly, I'll call you Kit. I'd just as lieve as not; anything to
oblige."
"And may I call you Patty?"
"Why, yes, if you like."
"Look here, you're altogether too indifferent about it."
"Oh, what a boy!" And Patty rolled her eyes up in despair. "If I don't
want him to call me Patty, he doesn't like it; and if I do let him call
me Patty, he isn't satisfied! What to do,--what to do!"
"You're a little tease,--THAT'S what you are!"
"And you're a big tease, that's what YOU are! I've heard you're even
fond of practical jokes! Now, I detest practical jokes."
"That's an awful pity, for I mean to play one on you the very first
chance I get."
"You can't do it?"
"Why can't I?"
"Because I'd discover it, and foil you."
"There's no such word as foil in my bright lexicon. I'll lay you a
wager, if you like, that I play a practical joke on you, that you,
yourself, will admit is clever and not unkind. That's the test of a
right kind of a joke,--to be clever and not unkind."
Patty's eyes danced. "You have the right idea about it," she said,
nodding her head approvingly. "I don't so much mind a practical joke,
if it is really a good one, and doesn't make the victim feel hurt or
chagrined. But all the same, Mr. Kit, you can't get one off on me! I'm
a little too wide-awake, as you'll find out."
"Would you take a wager?"
"I'm not in the habit of betting, but I'm willing for once. It's hardly
fair, though, for I'm betting on a dead certainty."
"You mean you THINK you are! And I think _I_ am, so the chances are
even. What are the stakes?"
"I don't care: candy or books or flowers or anything."
"Nonsense, they're too prosaic. If I win, you're to give me a
photograph of yourself."
"Oh, I almost never give my picture to my suitors. It isn't good form."
"But, if you're so sure that you will win, you needn't be afraid to
promise it."
"All right, I promise; and, if I win, you may give me a perfectly
beautiful picture frame, in which I shall put some other man's picture."
"How cruel you can be! But, as I'm sure of winning, I'm not afraid to
take that up. A frame against a picture, then. But there must be a time
limit."
"I'll give you a month; if you can't do it in that time, you can't do
it at all. And, also, I must be the judge,--if you do fool me,--whether
your practical joke is clever and not unkind."
"I'm quite contented that you should be the judge, for I know your
sincere and honest nature will not let you swerve a hair's breadth from
a true and fair judgment."
"That's clever," returned Patty; "for now I shall have to be honest."
The first dance over, Patty went on with a long succession of dances
with her various partners. They were all polite and courteous young
men, some attractive and agreeable, others shy, and some dull and
uninteresting. Patty complacently accorded another dance to any one she
liked, and calmly refused it to less desirable partners,--pleading an
engagement with Cameron as her excuse.
The one she liked best was Eddie Bell. As she had said, this young man
did look a little like Patty herself, though this was mostly due to
their similarity of colouring.
"If I may say anything so impossible, it seems to me that I look like a
comic valentine of you," said Mr. Bell, as they began to dance.
Patty laughed outright at this apt expression of their resemblance, and
said: "I have already told some one that you looked exactly like me.
So, in that case, I'm a comic valentine, too. But, truly, you're enough
like me to be my brother."
"May I be? Not that I want to, in the least, but of course that is the
obvious thing to say. I'd rather be most any relation to you than a
brother."
"Why?"
"Oh, it's such a prosaic relationship. I have three sisters,--and
they're the dearest girls in the world,--but I don't really feel the
need of any more."
"What would you like to be?" And Patty flashed him a dangerous glance
of her pansy-blue eyes.
But Mr. Bell kept his equanimity. "How about second cousin, once
removed?"
"I suppose you'll be removed at the end of this dance."
"Then, may this dance last for ever!"
"Oh, what a pretty speech! Of course, you wouldn't make that to a
sister! I think a second cousinship is very pleasant."
"Then, that's settled. And I may call you Cousin Patty, I suppose?"
"It would seem absurd to say Cousin Miss Fairfield, wouldn't it? And
yet our acquaintance is entirely too short for first names."
"But it's growing longer every minute; and, if you would grant me
another dance after I'm removed from this one, I'm sure we could reach
the stage of first names."
"I will give you one more," said Patty, for she liked Mr. Bell very
much.
So at the end of their dance they agreed upon a number later on the
programme, and Mr. Bell wrote down "Cousin Ed" on Patty's card.
It was just after this that Kit came back for his second dance.
"Naughty girl," he said; "you've kept me waiting three-quarters of the
evening."
"I thought I saw you dancing with several visions of beauty."
"Only killing time till I could get back to you. Come on, don't waste a
minute."
It was a joy to Patty to dance with Cameron, for he was by all odds the
best dancer she had ever met. And many admiring glances followed them
as they circled the great room.
"How did you like your little brother?" Kit enquired.
"He's a ducky-daddles!" declared Patty, enthusiastically. "Just a nice
all-round boy, frank and jolly and good-natured."
"That's what I am."
"Not a bit of it! You're a musician; freakish, temperamental, touchy,
and--a woman-hater."
"Gracious! what a character to live up to,--or down to. But I hate YOU
awfully, don't I?"
"I don't know. I never can feel sure of these temperamental natures."
"Well, don't you worry about feeling sure of me. The longer you live,
the surer you'll feel."
"That sounds like 'the longer she lives the shorter she grows,'" said
Patty, flippantly.
"Yes, the old nursery rhyme. Well, you are my candle,--a beacon,
lighting my pathway with your golden beams----"
"Oh, do stop! That's beautiful talk, but it's such rubbish."
"Haven't you ever noticed that much beautiful talk IS rubbish?"
"Yes, I have. And I'm glad that you think that way, too. Beautiful
thoughts are best expressed by plain, sincere words, and have little
connection with 'beautiful talk.'"
"Patty Fairfield, you're a brick! And, when I've said that, I can't say
anything more."
"A gold brick?"
"Not in the usual acceptance of that term; but you're pure gold, and
I'm jolly well glad I've found a girl like you."
There was such a ring of sincerity in Cameron's tone that Patty looked
up at him suddenly. And the honest look in his eyes made it impossible
for her to return any flippant response.
"And I'm glad, too, that we are friends, Kit," she said, simply.
The next dance was Mr. Bell's, and that rosy-cheeked youth came up
blithely to claim it.
"Come along, Cousin Patty," he said, and Cameron stared at him in
amazement.
"Are you two cousins?" he said.
"Once removed," returned Eddie Bell, gaily; "and this is the removal."
He took Patty's hand and laid it lightly within his own arm as he led
her away.
"Don't let's dance right off," he begged. "Let's rest a minute in this
bosky dell."
The dell was an alcove off the ballroom, which contained several palms
and floral baskets and a deep, cushioned window-seat.
"Let's sit here and watch the moon rise;" and he led Patty toward the
window-seat, where he deftly arranged some cushions for her.
"I believe the moon rises to-morrow afternoon," said Patty.
"Well, I don't mind waiting. Sit here, won't you? These stupid cushions
ought to be of a golden yellow or a pale green. However, this old rose
does fairly well for our blond beauty. Isn't it nice we're of the same
type and harmonise with the same furnishings? When we're married we
won't have to differ about our house decorations." "When we are WHAT?"
"Married, I said. You know, you're not really my second cousin and
there's absolutely no bar to our union."
This was quite the most audacious young man Patty had ever met. But she
was quite equal to the situation.
"Of course there isn't," she said, lightly. "And, when I think of the
economy of our being able to use the same colour scheme, it IS an
inducement."
"And meantime we must get better acquainted, as you said when we were
dancing. May I come to see you in the city? Where do you live?"
"In Seventy-second Street," said Patty, "but I feel it my duty to tell
you that there's already a long line awaiting admission."
"Oh, yes, I've seen that line when I've been passing. It goes clear
round the corner of the block. Do I have to take my place at the end,
or can I have a special favour shown me?"
"I'm sure your sense of justice wouldn't permit that. You take your
place at the end of the line, and when your turn comes I'll be glad to
welcome you."
"Then that's all right," said Mr. Bell, cheerfully, "and you'll be
surprised to see how soon I appear! Now, lady fair, would you rather go
and dance or sit here and listen to me converse?"
"It's pleasant to rest a little," and Patty nestled into her cushions,
"and you really ARE amusing, you know. Let's stay here a little while."
"Now, isn't that nice of you! Do you want to talk, too, or shall I do
it all and give you a complete rest?"
"You do it all," said Patty, indolently. "It will be like going to a
monologue entertainment."
"At your orders. What subject would you like?"
"Yourself."
"Oh, wise beyond your years! You know the subject that most interests a
man."
"That isn't pretty!" And Patty frowned at him. "There ought to be
another subject more interesting to you than that!"
"There is; but I don't dare trust myself with HER!"
Mr. Bell's manner and voice were so exactly the right mixture of
deferential homage and burlesque that Patty laughed in delight.
"You are the DEAREST man!" she cried.
He looked at her reproachfully. "You said I might do all the talking,
and now you're doing it yourself."
"I'll be still now. Avoid that subject you consider dangerous and tell
me all about yourself."
"Well, once upon a time, there was a beautiful young man who rejoiced
in the poetic and musical name of Eddie Bell. I know he was a beautiful
young man, because he was said to resemble the most beautiful girl in
the whole world. Well, one evening he had the supreme good fortune to
meet this girl, and he realised at once that he had met his Fate,--his
Fate with a VERY large F. Incidentally, the F stood for Fairfield,
which made his Fate all the more certain. And so----"
"Patty, are you here?" and Ken Harper came through the palms toward
them. "This is our dance."
"Good gracious, Ken, is this dance the next dance? I mean is this dance
over, or is this dance our dance."
"You seem a little mixed, Patty, but this is our dance and I claim it.
Are you RESTED enough?"
Patty rose and, with a simple word of excuse to Mr. Bell, went away
with Kenneth.
"That's the first time, Ken, in all our friendship that I ever knew you
to say anything horrid," and Patty looked at him with a really hurt
expression.
"I didn't say anything horrid," and Kenneth's fine face wore a sulky
expression.
"You did, too. You asked me if I were RESTED in a horrid, sarcastic
tone; and you meant it for a reproof, because I sat out that dance with
Mr. Bell."
"You had no business to go and hide behind those palms with him."
"We didn't hide! That's only a bay-window alcove,--a part of the
ballroom. I have a perfect right to sit out a dance if I choose."
"That young chap was too familiar, anyway. I heard him calling you
'Cousin Patty.'"
"Oh, fiddlestrings, Ken! Don't be an idiot! We were only joking. And
I'm not so old, yet, but what I can let a boy call me by my first name
if I choose. When I'm twenty I'm going to be Miss Fairfield; but while
I'm nineteen anybody can call me Patty,--if I give him permission."
"You're a flirt, Patty."
"All right, Ken. Flirt with me, won't you?" Patty's roguish blue eyes
looked at Kenneth with such a frank and friendly glance that he
couldn't scold her any more.
"I can't flirt with you, Patty. I'm not that sort. You know very well
I've only a plain, plodding sort of a mind, and I can't keep up with
this repartee and persiflage that you carry on with these other chaps."
"I don't carry on," said Patty, laughing.
"I didn't say you carried on," returned Kenneth, who took everything
seriously. "I meant you carried on conversations that are full of wit
and repartee, of a sort that I can't get off."
"Nobody wants you to, you dear old Ken! You wouldn't be half as nice if
you were as foolish and frivolous as these society chatterboxes! You've
got more sterling worth and real intellect in your make-up than they
ever dreamed of. Now, stop your nonsense and come on and dance.
But--don't undertake to lecture Patty Fairfield,--she won't stand for
it!"
"I didn't mean to lecture you, Patty," and Kenneth spoke very humbly.
"But when I saw you tucked away behind those palms, flirting with that
yellow-headed rattle-pate, I felt that I ought to speak to you."
"You SPOKE, all right!" and Patty looked at him severely. "But you know
perfectly well, Kenneth Harper, that I wasn't doing anything I oughtn't
to. You know perfectly well that, though I like what you call
'flirting,' I'm never the least bit unconventional and I never forget
the strictest law of etiquette and propriety. I'd scorn to do such a
thing!"
Patty's blue eyes were blazing now with righteous indignation, for
Kenneth had been unjust, and Patty would not stand injustice. She was
punctilious in matters of etiquette, and she had not overstepped any
bounds by sitting out a dance in that alcove, which was a part of the
ballroom and a refuge for any one weary of dancing.
"And you know perfectly well, Kenneth," she went on, "that you DIDN'T
think I was unconventional, or anything of the sort. You were only----"
Patty paused, for she didn't quite want to say what was in her mind.
"You're right, Little Patty," and Kenneth looked her straight in the
eyes; "you're right. I WAS jealous. Yes, and envious. It always hurts
me to see you laughing and talking in that darling little way of yours,
and to know that _I_ can't make you talk like that. I wish I weren't
such a stupid-head! I wish _I_ could say things that would make you
play your pretty fooleries with ME."
Patty looked at him in amazement. She had never suspected that
serious-minded, hard-working Kenneth had anything but scorn for men of
less mental calibre and quicker wit.
"Why, Kenneth," she said, gently, "don't talk like that. My friendship
for you is worth a dozen of these silly foolery flirtations with men
that I don't care two cents for."
"I don't want your friendship, Patty," and Kenneth's deep voice
trembled a little; "I mean I don't want ONLY your friendship. And yet I
know I can't hope for anything more. I'm too dull and commonplace to
attract a beautiful butterfly like you."
"Kenneth," and Patty gave him a glance, gentle, but a little
bewildered, "you're out of your head. You have a splendid head,
Kenneth, full of wonderful brains, but you're out of it. You get
yourself back into it as quick as you can! And don't let's dance this
dance, please; I am tired. I wish you'd take me to Mrs. Perry."
In silence, Kenneth complied with Patty's wish, and took her to where
Lora Perry was sitting.
Then he went away, leaving Patty much more disturbed by what he had
said than by all the gay fooleries of Eddie Bell or Kit Cameron.