CHAPTER VII
A SLEIGH-RIDE
The winter slipped away, and as Patty was a little girl who always lookedon the bright side of things, she really had very good times at Ville Rosa.
She became a favorite with the Elmbridge boys and girls, and her unfailinggood nature kept her from quarreling with her cousins though she was oftensorely tried by them.
Lessons were a very uncertain quantity. Sometimes there would be none atall for a week or two weeks, and then perhaps school would keep regularlyfor a few days, only to be followed by another interruption.
Patty found it only too easy to fall into these careless ways, and if shehad stayed all her life at Villa Rosa, I fear she would have becomeindolent and selfish, for the rule of the whole household seemed to be"Pleasure before Duty," and when that rule is followed it often happensthat the duties are not done at all.
In January, to Patty's great delight, there came a heavy snowstorm.
It made fine sleighing, for the roads were in just the right condition andas the weather was clear and cold there was good prospect of many days'fun.
Uncle Robert, always ready to give the young people a good time, instigateda sleighing parade, in which all the society people of Elmbridge wereinvited to join.
It was to be a grand affair. Every sleigh was to be decorated in beautifulor unique fashion, and there was great rivalry among the families ofElmbridge as to whose sleigh should present the finest spectacle.
"Papa," said Ethelyn, "I shall drive Patricia in my little cutter, ofcourse, and I want you to fix it up, somehow, so that it will beateverybody else all hollow."
"Ethelyn," said her mother, "if you don't stop using those slang phrases,you shan't go in the parade at all. Now promise to talk like a lady, andI'll see to it that your sleigh outshines all the rest."
"All right," said Ethelyn, "I'll promise. Now, how shall we decorate it?"
"Never mind," said her mother, "I wouldn't trust you with the secret. You'dtell everybody before the parade, and give them a chance to imitate it. Butjust wait and see. You and Patricia shall drive the most beautiful turnoutin the whole line."
That day Mrs. St. Clair made a hurried trip to New York and came home withmany mysterious packages, and other larger packages came by express. Mr.St. Clair came home early from his business and spent much of his time inthe barn, and the preparations grew so exciting that both Patty and Ethelynwere on tiptoe with curiosity and anticipation. The parade was to start thenext afternoon at two o'clock. Soon after luncheon, Mrs. St. Clair sent thegirls to their rooms to dress for the great event.
Ethelyn gave a little scream of delight, as she saw new garments spread outon her bed, and Patty ran on to her own room to find similar ones there.
Each girl had a long coat of fine white broadcloth, made with a doublecape-collar, and trimmed all round with white fur. A broad-brimmed whitefelt hat, with white ostrich plumes and a fleecy white feather boa, whitegloves, and a white muff were there too; and even white shoes and whitecloth leggings, so that when the cousins were dressed, there was not atouch of color about them, save their rosy faces and golden hair, and theylooked like veritable snow-queens.
They danced down-stairs to find Cupid awaiting them with a brand-newsleigh.
Cupid was Ethelyn's pony, and he was pure white, every bit of him, and itwas this fact that had suggested the whole scheme to Mr. St. Clair.
The new sleigh was pure white too, trimmed here and there with silver.
Cupid's harness was all white and silver, and waving white plumes andsilver bells were in various places about the sleigh and horse.
There were big white fur robes, and when Mr. St. Clair tucked the girls in,and Ethelyn took the white reins and white whip, it certainly seemed as ifno sleigh load could be prettier.
And none was. Everybody agreed that the white sleigh was the pride of theparade. Patty secretly wondered why her aunt was satisfied without moregaudy coloring; as she wrote to her father afterwards, she had halfexpected to see a red sleigh with blue and yellow robes. "But," she said,"I suppose it was because Cupid happened to be white, and I'm glad he was,for it was all just lovely."
Mr. and Mrs. St. Clair and Florelle went in the parade also, but theycontented themselves with the family sleigh, which of course was bothhandsome and elaborate. They had spent all their energies on the girls'appearance and they were very proud of the result.
Reginald, who was of an ingenious turn of mind, had contrived an affairwhich was supposed to look like a Roman chariot, and which was, therefore,a bit incongruous on runners.
It was very fancy, being almost entirely covered with gilt paper, and ithad two wheels and no back. It jolted fearfully, and Reginald wasoccasionally thrown out. However, he stuck to it pluckily, until hismachine was a total wreck, when he abandoned it, and jumped into hisfather's sleigh for the rest of the parade.
Patty enjoyed it all hugely. It was such a novel experience to fly along,through the crisp cold air, and over the shining snow roads; and Ethelynwas in such jubilant good-humor, that the whole affair marked a red letterday in the winter calendar.
The "White Flyer" was the talk of the town for weeks after, and Mr. St.Clair never tired of telling any one who would listen, how much it allcost, and how difficult it was to get the white sleigh and harness on suchshort notice.
Patty grew very tired of this pompous boasting, and, notwithstanding herenjoyment of the luxury at Villa Rosa, she was not altogether sorry whenthe time drew near for her to go away to Boston to make her next visit.
She was to leave the St. Clairs about the first of March, and spend thenext three months with her father's sister, Mrs. Fleming.
As Uncle Robert was her mother's brother, the two families were entirelyunacquainted, and the St. Clairs could tell Patty nothing about the newhome to which she was going.
"But," said her Aunt Isabel, "I feel sure you won't like them as well asyou like us. Are they rich, Patricia?"
"I don't know," answered Patty; "papa never said anything about that. Hesaid that they are a very literary family."
"Humph," said Aunt Isabel, "then I guess they haven't very much money;literary people never do have. Poor child, I suppose they'll turn you intoa regular little blue-stocking."
Patty didn't relish this idea, for at Villa Rosa she had fallen into thehabit of neglecting her lessons, and already study was losing its charm forher. But she was fond of reading, and she felt sure she would enjoy anatmosphere of books.
On the 14th of February, Aunt Isabel gave a party for the young people,which was a farewell party for Patty, though it was also a festival inhonor of St. Valentine's Day.
As usual, the girls had new dresses, and they represented Mrs. St. Clair'sidea of valentines.
Ethelyn's was of blue, and Patty's of pink silk, and they were trimmed withinnumerable lace flutings and garlands of flowers. They were furtherdecorated with gilt hearts pierced by darts, and with skilfully madeartificial doves which perched on the shoulders of the wearers.
The party was a very pretty one, as Aunt Isabel's parties always were.
The rooms were decorated with roses and pink ribbons, and gilt hearts anddarts, and feathered doves and wax cupids. At supper the ices and cakeswere heart-shaped, and after the children had returned to the drawing-roomSt. Valentine himself appeared.
As Patty suspected, it was Uncle Robert dressed up to represent the oldSaint, with flowing white hair and beard and a gilt paper halo. He wore along white robe with red hearts dotted all over it, and carried a gilt bowand arrow.
He carried also a pack or pouch full of valentines which he distributed tothe guests.
Of course they were very handsome affairs, and in each was hidden somedainty trifle, handkerchief, fan or bonbons.
Besides those at the party, Patty received numerous other valentines, someof which came by mail, and others in the good old-fashioned way, under thefront door.
Many of these were from the Elmbridge young people, while several fr
omRichmond included a beauty from her father, and a pretty one from ClaraHayden.
Although the cousins had varying tastes, they had become very good friends,and both felt sad when the day came for Patty to leave Villa Rosa.
Indeed, the whole family felt sad, for Patty was a very lovable littlegirl, and had endeared herself to them all. Uncle Robert was to take her toNew York and put her on the boat, where Mr. Tom Fleming would meet her andtake her to his mother's house in Boston.
Aunt Isabel said she, too, would go to New York with Patty, and of courseEthelyn announced her intention of going.
Then Florelle set up such a howl to go, that Patty begged her aunt to takeher, and the child went.
Reginald declined to be left out of such a family affair, so Patty wasamply escorted to her destination.
They went on board the _Priscilla_, a beautiful boat of the Fall RiverLine, and Mr. St. Clair soon found Mr. Fleming, who had agreed to meet himat a certain spot.
Then Patty was introduced to her Cousin Tom, who was a tall young man ofabout thirty-five, with a pointed beard, and dark, pleasant eyes.
"So this is my little Southern cousin," he said, cordially, as he took herhand.
Then he chatted affably with the whole party until the warning gongannounced that they must go ashore.
Ethelyn was heart-broken at the thought of parting, and flinging her armsround Patty's neck, burst into tears.
This was enough for Florelle, who promptly followed suit, and set up one ofher very best howls.
With a good-bye kiss to his niece, Uncle Robert picked up the screamingchild and marshaled his family off of the boat, and Patty was left alonewith her new-found cousin.
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