Patricia (20 page)

Of course they were not there, and she had known they would not be when she looked, but still she looked. She sighed when it was over and turned away from Thorny's classic face with that smug assurance upon it as he watched her. It was only her father who really cared and was looking at her with love in his proud eyes. Her mother was looking at her dress and thinking it might have been a shade more elaborate if only Patricia hadn't been so silly, still clinging to that old idea of being a child. Well, at least her education was done now, and she could have clear sailing to establish her in the right circle of life and give her a good start. And of course, there was Thorny, so the stage seemed to be already well set.

And then at last it was all over, the good-byes said, the baggage packed, the flowers stowed in the back of the car; the graduating presents, the tears, the smiles, the last little prayer-meeting up in Patricia's room with the door locked even against her family whom she had bribed to let her alone a few minutes; and then the going home.

Her father's gift was a tiny jeweled wristwatch, and she loved it. Her mother had persisted in getting her a diamond necklace, and she shrank from its glitter.

Her mother, of course, had tried to make her ride with Thorny in his car, for he had driven up with that in mind, but Patricia said no, she was going home alone with her parents. She didn't want anybody else along, either. No, Thorny must not crowd in and hire someone else to bring his car home later. No, she wanted to rest with her family for the drive home.

Strangely enough, this kind of thing only made Thorny more devoted, more determined to win her finally.

And then at home after the first quiet days, there was the party that her mother was so determined about.

“Better let her have it, Pat! She tells me she's just lived for that ever since you were born,” said her father, with a sad little smile. “She wouldn't understand if you didn't.”

So Patricia sat obediently down day after day and helped her mother write out lists of people to be invited, and saw her turn down any of her old friends from high school that she suggested, even though some of them had married into very respectable families and were doing well. Mrs. Prentiss meant to have this party one of the grandest affairs socially that their town had ever known.

They discussed whether it should be held in the house or whether they would hire a big hall in the finest hotel in the city. How Patricia hated it all, the tiresome question of what “they” would think about this or that and no thought of what her Lord might think. But there wasn't anything that she could do about it. Her mother was having the time of her life, and why not let her have it? Of course, there were questions of worldliness that were involved. Patricia had had opportunity in college to come to certain decisions about them. There would be liquors. Her mother would insist upon it. Her father wouldn't like it, and she hated it, and yet it would be. And there would be dancing. Patricia had not enjoyed that for a long time now. Never had she heard discussion of it but her own feeling was against it. Patricia prayed about that party a good deal in those early fall days, that the Lord would take control of it and somehow direct it the way He wanted it.

Mr. Prentiss watched his daughter's face from day to day and saw shadows gather there. He knew without her saying anything that this great debut was not happiness to his little girl.

And then one day when the hotel was all but hired, the decorators and confectioners were all but arranged for, he came home and suggested that the party be put off and they tour a year in Europe first.

He knew by the great light that broke on Pat's face that it would be an intense relief to her tired young soul.

“Why, George!” babbled Amelia bewilderedly. “We couldn't! How could we? The party, you know. Patricia's party.”

“Put it off,” he said quickly, “or chuck it altogether!” And he laughed.

“George!” said Amelia, aghast. “When Patricia has her dress all ready!”

“She can wear the dress to church or somewhere, can't she, Amelia? Or to a garden party. Any old place. I'll tell you what. She can use it to be presented at court in. That'll settle it all fine! Then you can chuck the party altogether and no harm done!”

“George!” reproved his wife severely. “Is it possible that you don't know that young women are not presented at court in garments of their own choosing? Surely you know that the fashions for such presentations are all prescribed by the court!”

“To heck with the court, then! To heck with the king and queen, I say. Any old king and queen that aren't satisfied with a dress my daughter picks out to come and see them in can go to thunder for all me. She doesn't have to be presented to any old court, either, if they're that particular!”

“George!” said Amelia, almost in tears. “I'd be afraid, positively
afraid
, to take you over to Europe lest you might express some such ideas and be overheard and get arrested.”

“Well, Mrs. Prentiss, I didn't know that you contemplated taking me over to Europe. I thought I was taking you. In which case I can readily promise that I won't get me arrested, not while you're around, anyway. Now, is that all settled? What do you say, Pat? Shall we go?”

“Oh, Daddy, that would be too beautiful!”

“Well then, get up and dance with your old daddy and mamma, Pat, and let's celebrate. We'll put away the whole kit of plans for that bloomin' party and get us ready to trip off to Europe on the next desirable boat.” He danced over to his wife and pulled her to her feet, making her dance over to their daughter and pull her to her feet, and together they three whirled around the room, with joined hands, until poor Amelia was all out of breath and puffing like a porpoise.

And so they sailed for Europe the next week, while Thorny was away playing polo.

But Thorny came trailing after them on the very next boat and turned up everywhere they went, until Patricia again grew quite used to him and altogether indifferent to him. There were so many other things to see and do that she didn't have to think much about him. Mrs. Prentiss enjoyed his constant presence immensely and was always inventing excuses to call her husband away and leave Thorny with Patricia. She followed them with fond eyes when they went anywhere together and felt that she had her daughter very well placed in spite of all the trouble she had had.

Patricia was living in a world of wonder, getting acquainted with the reality of things about which she had studied. That Thorny was her constant attendant made very little difference to her. It kept her mother satisfied to have someone along with her.

Thorny wasn't the least interested in the historic or literary value of the things they were seeing. He trailed around with her making very little response to what she said about them. He was watching Patricia, rather proud to be with her, for he saw that she made an impression wherever she went. She was a beautiful girl, her family was all right, and she dressed in exquisite taste, though rather plainly when one considered her position as the daughter of a moderately wealthy man. And their fortunes were well matched. Of course, Thorny hadn't any fortune just now, for his father had him on a strict allowance, but he was sure if he should marry, his mother would make his father “come across”; and anyway, Dad wasn't very well, and Thorny would inherit a lot when he passed on. That was the way he reasoned.

Of course, Pat wasn't exactly his style, a little too sober, but if he once got her in her place as his wife he could remedy all that. Then, too, her mother would be an awful pill to have around, but he'd take good care to locate pretty far away from her. He wanted no relatives of his own or hers to do any curbing to his plans.

So he went patiently around between his several events in the world of horses, trailing Patricia, watching her, studying her, and when his lighthearted nature was too bored with her quietness and her determination not to have the kind of good time he wanted, he would fly off for a day or two and find some kindred spirit, either some old acquaintance or one he could pick up anywhere. For Thorny had never been particular about his casual acquaintances. His chief object was a good time.

But he managed to keep fairly sober. At least he did not return to the vicinity of the Prentisses until he was thoroughly in command of himself. Thorny could carry a good deal of liquor by this time without being visibly affected. Sometimes when he considered it seriously he told himself it was ridiculous to think of marrying a girl who would not take even a glass of liquor. But that, too, would be one of the things he could change in her when he got in control.

And so, watching her carefully and going cheerfully with her everywhere she would let him, he came gradually to the decision that he would marry Patricia.

It never seemed to occur to him that she might have a mind of her own about it. Thorny had been admired so much that he thought of course any girl would be glad to marry him if he decided to ask her. True, she used to have a nasty little temper, but she seemed to be pretty well over that. She was gentle and sweet most of the time; only now and then when he proposed that they should go to some nightclub or something of that sort, then she was adamant with her refusals. He'd change all that when they were married, but just now it didn't seem wise to make much protest, not since he had made fun of her one day about her old-fashioned tastes and her father had appeared casually on the scene with a stern glance in his eyes. Thorny didn't want to get in bad with the old man before the thing was a foregone conclusion.

As for himself, he considered that he had been very docile, going almost everywhere she wanted to go. Of course she never asked him to go with her, he just trailed along. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have seen much of her. And of course if he had been too indifferent, her mother would have supplied an invitation. But he preferred to trail. That way he was freer. There was only one place where he did not go often with her, where he knew she liked to go best, and that was church. He couldn't understand why she liked to go to church so much. All kinds of churches; the more old-fashioned they were, the more she liked them. Stuffy, odd churches where the preachers believed a lot of old-fashioned things that Thorny had never even heard of, and preached them hard so that you almost felt uncomfortable, as if they were being preached right at you. That was the impression he had drawn from the few times he had swallowed his distaste and gone with her.

The first time that Thorny proposed to her they were sitting on a lovely hillside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was where Patricia loved to come and spend some time with the marvelous view every day while they were in the vicinity. Views bored Thorny, but he always knew where to find her when she wasn't available anywhere else. So with his plans fully matured he breezed into the picture and dropped down beside her on the grass. Boy, but she was beautiful sitting there against the background of those trees, with light and shadow flickering over her lovely hair! Even without lipstick or rouge she was angelic, and if she were just touched up a little the way women of the world knew how to do it, she would be simply stunning. No, he was making no mistake. The trifles that were not just according to his mind he would set right when he had her for his own.

So with some of his old-time assurance he began, half laughingly:

“Pat, why don't you and I go get married? Wouldn't it be a lot more sensible than all this hanging around and waiting that we are doing now?”

Patricia turned astonished, suddenly worried eyes toward him and answered coolly, “Are we hanging around waiting, Thorny? I didn't know it.”

“Well, you certainly must be blind. What did you suppose I was sticking around for? You know I'm crazy about you, and the natural conclusion is that we'll be married sometime. Why not now? We can have just as good a wedding over here as we can at home any day, if that's what you're hesitating for. Or, if you're sentimental and have to be married at home, let's all fly over and get the thing out of the way, and then come back and hike around where we like?”

Patricia gave him a quick troubled look, and then lifting her chin a bit haughtily said, “But you see, Thorny, I'm not in the least crazy about you, and I have no intention whatever of getting married now, or perhaps not at any time, so let's go back to the hotel. It's almost time for dinner!” Lithely she sprang to her feet and started slowly walking away from him.

That was the way most of his attempts ended, either by Patricia turning them down utterly or else laughing at him. She simply wouldn't take him seriously.

“You're nothing but a boy yet, Thorny. You don't really know what you want out of life, and perhaps I don't either, only I'm sure of one thing. I don't want to marry you. So let's forget it and see everything we came over here to see.”

“To heck with the sights!” said Thorny. “I can't see anything but you!” And he said it in such a flippant way that Patricia looked him in the eyes and said:

“Oh no you don't, either, Thorny. You see every pretty girl that comes by. Don't try to put that over on me.”

Then he would go away for a couple of days and come back and start trailing her again.

That went on for almost two years, while the Prentisses lingered in Europe. As long as there were plenty of new wonders to see Patricia stood it all right, ignoring him time and again, or putting him off with a laugh.

But when they came home it was a different matter. Thorny grew more and more impatient, and Mrs. Prentiss grew more and more worried.

Patricia began to adopt a new method now, for there seemed no other way to get rid of Thorny, who parked on her trail on all occasions. The people at home had begun to couple their names inevitably, to invite them together, to place them side by side at dinners. It was beginning to get on Patricia's nerves mightily. An so she suddenly began to cultivate the acquaintance of this and that man whom she met here and there among her friends, or at the club, or out at some house party her mother had inveigled her to attend. And when she began to go out with other young men than Thorny and to flit from one to the other in her attempt to keep her name from being constantly associated with Thorny's, then her mother was fairly frantic. How did they know who these other young men were? Outsiders, strangers in the town. When everything seemed to have been so satisfactorily arranged, why did Patricia have to upset it all and be so difficult? Thorny was becoming restive under this treatment. Why didn't her daughter see that herself?