CHAPTER VIII
EMBROIDERED BLOSSOMS
It was after twelve o'clock when Patty reached home, and she found Nan,with her wraps on, rather anxiously awaiting her.
"Patty! Wherever have you been all this time?" she cried, as Patty camein with her big bundle.
"Laying the foundations of my great career; and, oh, Nan, it was prettyawful! I'm in for it, I can tell you!"
"What a goose you are!" But Nan smiled affectionately at the rosy,excited face of her stepdaughter.
"Well, I'm going out on a short errand, Patty. I'll be home to luncheonat one, and then you must tell me all about it."
Patty ran up to her own room, and, flinging off her hat and coat, satdown to open her bundle of work.
It was appalling. The portion to be embroidered looked larger than it haddone in the shop, and the pattern was one of the most intricate andelaborate she had ever seen.
"Thank goodness, they're all alike," thought poor Patty. "After I do one,the others will be easier."
She flew for her embroidery hoops and work-basket, and began at once onone of the centrepieces.
The pattern was a floral design, tied with bow-knots and interlaced witha conventional lattice-work. The shading of the blossoms was complicated,and showed many shades of each colour. The bow-knots were of a solidcolour, but required close, fine stitches of a tedious nature, while thelattice-work part seemed to present an interminable task.
Patty was a skilful embroiderer, and realised at her first glance thatshe had a fearful amount of work before her.
But as yet she was undismayed, and cheerfully started in on the flowers.
She selected the right silks, cut the skeins neatly, and put them inthread papers.
"For," she thought, "if I allow my silks to get tangled or mixed up, itwill delay me, of course."
At one o'clock, Nan came to her room.
"Didn't you hear the luncheon gong?" she said.
"No," replied Patty, looking up. "Is it one o'clock already?"
"For goodness', gracious' sake, Patty! What _are_ you doing? Is _that_your 'occupation'?"
"Yes," said Patty, proudly displaying a wild rose, beautifully worked,and carefully tinted. "Don't I do it nicely?"
"Indeed you do! Your embroidery is always exquisite. But are you going towork that whole centrepiece?"
"No, only a section,--see, just this much."
Patty indicated the portion she was to work, but she didn't say that shehad thirty-five more, carefully laid away in a box, to do within theweek.
"Well," agreed Nan, "that's not such a terrific task. But will they giveyou fifteen dollars for that piece?"
"No," said Patty, smiling a little grimly; "but there are others."
"Oho! A lot of them! A dozen, I suppose. They always give out work bydozens. Well, girlie, I don't want to be discouraging, but you can't do adozen in a week. Come on down to luncheon."
At the table, Patty gave Nan a graphic description of her morning'sexperiences.
Though more or less shocked at the whole performance, Nan couldn't helplaughing at Patty's dramatic recital, and the way in which she mimickedthe various people.
"And yet, Nan," she said, "it's really pathetic; they all seemed so busyand so tired. The woman who gave me the work was like a machine,--as ifshe just fed out centrepieces to people who came for them. I'm sure shehasn't smiled for fourteen years. The only gay one in the place was thered-headed boy; and he talked such fearful slang it cured me of everusing it again! Father will be glad of that, anyway. Hereafter I shallconverse in Henry James diction. Why, Nan, he said, 'Pipe de guy wit' degoggles'!"
"What did he mean?" asked Nan, puzzled.
"Oh, he meant, 'observe the gentleman wearing spectacles.'"
"How did you know?"
"Intuition, I suppose. And then, he pointed to the man in question."
"Patty, you'll get more slangy still, if you go among such people."
"No, I won't. There's no cure like an awful example. Watch the eleganceof my conversation from now on. And besides, Nan, you mustn't act as if Iassociated with them socially. I assure you I was quite the haughty lady.But that slangy boy was an angel unawares. I'd probably be there yet butfor his kindly aid."
"Well, I suppose you'll have to carry this absurd scheme through. And,Patty, I'll help you in any way I can. Don't you want me to wind silks,or something?"
"No, ducky stepmother of mine. The only way you can help is to head offcallers. I can do the work if I can keep at it. But if the girls comebothering round, I'll never get it done. Now, this afternoon, I want todo a lot, so if any one asks for me, won't you gently but firmly refuseto let them see me? Make yourself so entertaining that they'll forget myexistence."
"I'll try," said Nan, dubiously; "but if it's Elise or Clementine,they'll insist on seeing you."
"Let 'em insist. Tell 'em I have a sick headache,--for I feel sure Ishall before the afternoon's over."
"Now, Patty, I won't have that sort of thing! You may work an hour or so,then you must rest, or go for a drive, or chat with the girls, orsomething."
"I will, other days, Nan. But to-day I want to put in the solid afternoonworking, so I'll know how much I can accomplish."
"Have you really a dozen of those things to do, Patty?"
"Yes, I have." Patty didn't dare say she had three dozen. "And if I dowell this afternoon, I can calculate how long the work will take. Oh,Nan, I do want to succeed. It isn't only the work, you know, it's theprinciple. I hate to be baffled; and I _won't_ be!"
A stubborn look came into Patty's pretty eyes,--a look which Nan knewwell. A look which meant that the indomitable will might be broken butnot bent, and that Patty would persevere in her chosen course until sheconquered or was herself defeated.
So, after luncheon, she returned to her task, a little less certain ofsuccess than she had been, but no less persevering.
The work was agreeable to her. She loved to embroider, and the daintydesign and exquisite colouring appealed to her aesthetic sense.
Had it been only one centrepiece, and had she not felt hurried, it wouldhave been a happy outlook.
But as she carefully matched the shades of silk to the sample piece, shefound that it took a great deal of time to get the tints exactly right.
"But that's only for the first one," she thought hopefully; "for all theothers, I shall know just which silks to use. I'll lay them in order, sothere'll be no doubt about it."
Her habits of method and system stood her in good stead now, and herskeins, carefully marked, were laid in order on her little work-table.
But though her fingers fairly flew, the pattern progressed slowly. Sheeven allowed herself to leave long stitches on the wrong side,--a thingshe never did in her own embroidery. She tried to do all the petals ofone tint at once, to avoid delay of changing the silks. She used everyeffort to make "her head save her hands," but the result was that bothhead and hands became heated and nervous.
"This won't do," she said to herself, as the silk frazzled between hertrembling fingers. "If I get nervous, I'll never accomplish anything!"
She forced herself to be calm, and to move more slowly, but the mentalstrain of hurry, and the physical strain of eyes and muscles, made herjerky, and the stitches began to be less true and correct.
"I'll be sensible," she thought; "I'll take ten minutes off and relax."
She went downstairs, singing, and trying to assume a careless demeanour.
Going into Nan's sitting-room, she said:
"Work's going on finely. I came down for a glass of water, and to rest aminute. Any one been here?"
"No," said Nan, pleasantly, pretending not to notice Patty's flushedcheeks and tired eyes. Really, she had several times stolen on tiptoe toPatty's door, and anxiously looked at her bending over her work. ButPatty didn't know this, and wise Nan concluded the time to speak was notyet.
"No, no one came in to disturb you, which is fortunate. You're sensible,dear, to rest a bit. Jane will
bring you some water. Polly want acracker?"
"No, thank you; I'm not hungry. Nan, that's awfully fine work."
"Yes, I know it, Patsy. But remember, you don't _have_ to do it. Give thething a fair trial, and if it doesn't go easily, give it up and trysomething else."
"It goes easily enough; it isn't that. But you know yourself, you can'tdo really good embroidery if you do it too rapidly."
"'Deed you can't! But you do such wonderfully perfect work, that I shouldthink you could afford to slight it a little, and still have it betterthan other people's."
"Nan, you're such a comfort!" cried Patty, jumping up to embrace herstepmother. "You always say just the very right thing. Now, I'm goingback to work. I feel all rested now, and I'm sure I can finish a lotto-day. Why, Nan Fairfield! for goodness' sake! Is it really fouro'clock?"
Patty had just noticed the time, and was aghast! Two solid hours she hadworked, and only a small portion of one piece was done! She hadn'tdreamed the time had flown so, and thought it about three o'clock.
Slightly disheartened at this discovery, she went back to work. At first,the silks went smoothly enough, then hurry and close application broughton the fidgets again.
Before five o'clock, she had to turn on the electric lights, and then, toher dismay, the tints of the silks changed, and she couldn't tell yellowfrom pink; or green from gray.
"Well," she thought, "I'll work the bow-knots. They're of one solidcolour, and it's straight sailing."
Straight sailing it was,--but very tedious. An untrue stitch spoiled thesmooth continuance of the embroidery that was to represent tied ribbonbows. An untrue stitch--and she made several--had to be picked out anddone over, and this often meant frayed silk, or an unsightly needle holein the linen.
Long before Patty thought it was time, the dressing-gong for dinnersounded.
She jumped, greatly surprised at the flight of time, but also relieved,that now she _must_ lay aside her work. She longed to throw herself downon her couch and rest, but there was no time for that.
However, after she bathed and dressed, she felt refreshed, and it was abright, merry-faced Patty who danced downstairs to greet her father.
If he thought her cheeks unusually pink, or her eyes nervously bright, hemade no allusion to it.
"Well, Puss, how goes the 'occupation'?" he said, patting her shoulder.
"It's progressing, father," she replied, "but if you'd just as leave, wewon't talk about it to-night. I'll tell you all about it, after I finishit."
"All right, Pattykins; we business people never like to 'talk shop.'"
And then Mr. Fairfield, who had been somewhat enlightened by Nan as tohow matters stood, chatted gaily of other things, and Patty forgot hertroublesome work, and was quite her own gay, saucy self again.
Kenneth dropped in in the evening, to bring a song which he had promisedPatty. They tried it over together, and then Patty said:
"Would you mind, Ken, if I ask you not to stay any longer, to-night? I'vesomething I want to do, and----"
"Mind? Of course not. I rather fancy we're good enough friends not tomisunderstand each other. If you'll let me come and make up my time someother night, I'll skip out now, so quick you can't see me fly!"
"All right," said Patty, smiling at his hearty, chummy manner. "I do wishyou would. I'm not often busy, as you know."
"'Course I know it. Good-night, lady, I'm going to leave you now," andwith a hearty handshake and a merry smile, Kenneth went away, and Pattywent to her own room.
"I can work on that bow-knot part, to-night," she said to herself; "andthen to-morrow, I'll get up early and do the rest of the flowers beforebreakfast."
Her task had begun to look hopeless, but she was not yet ready to admitit, and she assured herself that, of course, the others would go muchmore rapidly than the first.
She took down her hair and braided it into a long pigtail; then she puton a comfortable kimono and sat down to work.
She stitched, and she stitched, and she stitched, at the monotonous overand over bow-knots. Doggedly she kept on, though her shoulders ached, hereyes smarted, and her fingers trembled.
With a kind of whimsical pathos, she repeated to herself Hood's "Song ofthe Shirt," and said, under her breath, "'Stitch, stitch, stitch, tillthe cock is crowing aloof,' or whatever it is!"
Then she saw by her watch that it was eleven o'clock.
"I'll just finish this bow," she thought, "and then, I'll stop."
But before the bow was finished, there was a tap at her door.
"Who's there?" said Patty, in a voice which carried no invitation toenter.
"It's us," said Nan, firmly, if ungrammatically, "and we're coming in!"
Mr. and Mrs. Fairfield entered, and Patty, trying to make the best of it,looked up and smiled.
"How do you do?" she said. "Take seats, won't you? I'm just amusingmyself, you see."
But the tired voice had a quiver in it, for all at once Patty saw thatshe had failed. She had worked hard all the afternoon and evening, andhad not finished one of her thirty-six pieces! It was this discovery thatupset her, rather than the unexpected visit from her parents.
"Girlie, this won't do," began her father, in his kindest tones.
"I know it!" cried Patty, throwing down her work, and flinging herselfinto her father's arms. "I can't do it, daddy, I can't! I haven't doneone yet, and I never can do thirty-six!"
"Thirty-six!" exclaimed Nan. "Patty, are you crazy?"
"I think I must have been," said Patty, laughing a little hysterically,as she took the great pile of centrepieces from a wardrobe, and threwthem into Nan's lap.
"But,--but you said a dozen!" said Nan, bewildered.
"Oh, no, I didn't," returned Patty. "_You_ said, did I bring a dozen, andI said yes. Also, I brought two dozen more."
"To do in a week!" said Nan, in an awe struck voice.
"Yes, to do in a week!" said Patty, mimicking Nan's tones; and then theyboth laughed.
But Mr. Fairfield didn't laugh. His limited knowledge of embroidery madehim ignorant of how much work "three dozen" might mean, but he knew theeffect it had already had on Patty, and he knew it was time to interfere.
"My child----" he began, but Patty interrupted him.
"Don't waste words, daddy, dear," she said. "It's all over. I've triedand failed; but remember, this is only my first attempt."
The fact that she realised her failure was in a way a relief, for thestrain of effort was over, and she could now see the absurdity of thetask she had undertaken.
She had reached what some one has called "the peace of defeat," and herspirits reacted as after an escape from peril.
"I must have been crazy, Nan," she said, sitting down beside her on thecouch. "Just think; I've worked about six hours, and I've done about halfof one piece. And I brought thirty-six!"
This statement of the case gave Mr. Fairfield a clearer idea, and helaughed, too.
"No, Patty; I think I need say nothing more. I see you know when you'rebeaten, and I fancy you won't touch needle to that pile of work again! Ihope you can settle matters with your 'employer'; if not, I'll help youout. But I want to congratulate you on your pluck and perseverance, evenif,--well, even if they were----"
"Crazy," supplemented Patty.