CHAPTER XV
BILLS
Patty's plans for systematic housekeeping included a number of smallRussia-leather account books, and she looked forward with some eagernessto the time when the first month's bills should come in, and she couldpresent to her father a neat and accurate statement of the householdexpenses for the month.
The 1st of February was Sunday, but on Monday morning the postman broughta sheaf of letters which were evidently bills.
Patty had no time to look at these before she went to school, so sheplaced them carefully in her desk, determined to hurry home thatafternoon and get her accounts into apple-pie order before her fathercame home. After school she returned to find a supplementary lot of billshad been left by the postman, and also Mancy presented her with a numberof bills which the tradesmen had left that morning.
Patty took the whole lot to her desk, and with methodical exactness notedthe amounts on the pages of her little books. She and her father hadtalked the matter over, more or less, and Patty knew just about what Mr.Fairfield expected the bills to amount to.
But to her consternation she discovered, as she went along, that eachbill was proving to be about twice as large as she had anticipated.
"There must be some mistake," she said to herself, "we simply _can't_have eaten all those groceries. Anybody would think we ran a branchstore. And that butcher's bill is big enough for the Central Parkmenagerie! They must have added it wrong."
But a careful verification of the figures proved that they were addedright, and Patty's heart began to sink as she looked at the enormoussum-totals.
"To think of all that for flowers! Well, papa bought some of them, that'sa comfort; but I had no idea I had ordered so many myself. I think billsare perfectly horrid! And here's my dressmaker's bill. Gracious, howMadame LaFayette has gone up in her prices! I believe I'll make my ownclothes after this; but the market bills are the worst I don't see how we_could_ have eaten all these things. Mancy must be a dreadful waster, butit isn't fair to blame her; if that's where the trouble is, I ought tohave looked after it myself. Hello, Marian, is that you? I didn't hearyou come in. Do come here, I'm in the depths of despair!"
"What's the matter, Patsie? and what a furious lot of bills! You looklike a clearinghouse."
"Oh, Marian, it's perfectly fearful! Every bill is two or three times asmuch as I thought it would be, and I'm so sorry, for I meant to be such athrifty housekeeper."
"Jiminetty Christmas!" exclaimed Marian, looking at some of the papers,"I should think these bills _were_ big! Why, that's more than we pay amonth for groceries, and look at the size of our family."
"I know it," said Patty hopelessly. "I don't see how it happened."
"You are an extravagant little wretch, Patty, there's no doubt about it."
"I suppose I am; at least, I suppose I have been, but I'm not going to beany more. I'm going to reform, suddenly and all at once and verythoroughly! Now, you watch me. We're not going to have any more fancythings, no more ice cream from Pacetti's. Why, that caterer's bill issomething fearful."
"And so you're going to starve poor Uncle Fred?"
"No, that wouldn't be fair, would it? The economy ought to fall entirelyon me. Well, I've decided to make my own clothes after this, anyway."
"Oh, Patty, what a goose you are! You couldn't make them to save yourneck, and after you made them you couldn't wear them."
"I could, too, Marian Elliott! Just you wait and see me make my summerdresses. I'm going to sew all through vacation."
"All right," said Marian, "I'll come over and help you, but you can'tmake any dresses this afternoon, so put away those old bills and getready for a sleigh ride. It's lovely out, and father said he'd call forus here at four o'clock."
"All right, I will, if we can get back by six. I want to be here whenpapa comes home."
"Yes, we'll be back by six. I expect Uncle Fred will shut you up in adark room and keep you on bread and water for a week when he seesthose bills."
"That's just the worst of it," said Patty forlornly. "He's so good andkind, and spoils me so dreadfully that it makes me feel all the worsewhen I don't do things right."
A good long sleigh ride in the fresh, crisp winter air quite revivedPatty's despondent spirits. She sat in front with Uncle Charley, and helet her drive part of the way, for it was Patty's great delight to drivetwo horses, and she had already become a fairly accomplished littlehorsewoman.
"Fred tells me he's going to get horses for you this spring," said UncleCharley. "You'll enjoy them a lot, won't you, Patty?"
"Yes, indeed--that is--I don't know whether we'll have them or not."
For it just occurred to Patty that, having run her father into suchunexpected expense in the household, a good way to economise would be togive up all hopes of horses.
"Oh, yes, you'll have them all right," said Uncle Charley, in his gay,cheery way, having no idea, of course, what was in Patty's mind. "And youmust have a little pony and cart of your own. It would give you a greatdeal of pleasure to go out driving in the spring weather."
"I just guess it would," said Patty, "and I'm sure I hope I'll have it."
She began to wonder if she couldn't find some other way to economiserather than on the horses, for she certainly did love to drive.
Promptly at six o'clock Uncle Charley left her at Boxley Hall, and as sheentered the door Patty felt that strange sinking of the heart that alwaysaccompanies the resuming of a half-forgotten mental burden.
"I know just how thieves and defaulters and forgers feel," she said toherself, as she took off her wraps. "I haven't exactly stolen, but I'vebetrayed a trust, and that's just as bad. I wonder what papa will say?"
At dinner Patty was subdued and a little nervous.
Mr. Fairfield, quick to notice anything unusual in his daughter, surmisedthat she was bothered, but felt sure that in her own time she would tellhim all about it, so he endeavoured to set her at her ease by chattingpleasantly about the events of his day in the city, and sustaining theburden of the conversation himself.
But after dinner, when they had gone into the library, as they usuallydid in the evening, Patty brought out her fearful array of paper bugbearsand laid them before her father.
"What are these?" said Mr. Fairfield cheerily. "Ah, yes, I see. The 1stof the month has brought its usual crop of bills."
"I do hope it isn't the usual crop, papa; for if they always come in likethis, we'll have to give up Boxley Hall and go to live in thepoor-house."
"Oh, I don't know. We haven't overdrawn our bank account yet Whew!Pacetti's is a stunner, isn't it?"
"Yes," said Patty, in a meek little voice.
"And Fisher & Co. seem to have summed up quite a total; and Smith'sflower bill looks like a good old summer time."
"Oh, papa, please scold me; I know I deserve it. I ought to have lookedafter these things and kept the expenses down more."
"Why ought you to have done so, Patty? We have to have food, don't we?"
"Yes; but, papa, you know we estimated in the beginning, and these oldbills come up to about twice as much as our estimate."
"That's a fact, baby, they do," said Mr. Fairfield, looking over thestatements with a more serious air. "These are pretty big figures torepresent a month's living for just you and me and our small retinue ofservants."
"Yes; and, papa, I think Mancy is rather wasteful. I don't say this toblame her. I know it is my place to see about it, and be careful thatshe utilises all that is possible of the kitchen waste."
Patty said this so exactly with the air of a _Young Housekeeper's Guide_or _Cooking School Manual_, that Mr. Fairfield laughed outright.
"Chickadee," he said, "you'll come out all right. You have the trueelements of success. You see where you've fallen into error, you'rewilling to admit it, and you're ready to use every means to improve inthe future. I'm not quite so surprised as you are at the size of thesebills; for, though we made our estimates rationally, yet we have beenbuying a great many things and
having a pretty good time generally. Iforesaw this experience at the end of the month, but I preferred to waitand see how we came out rather than interfere with the proceedings; andanother thing, Patty, which may comfort you some, is the fact that Iquite believe that some of these tradespeople have taken advantage ofyour youth and inexperience and padded their bills a little bit inconsequence."
"But, papa, just look at Madame LaFayette's bill. I don't think sheought to charge so much."
"These do seem high prices for the simple little frocks you wear; butthey are always so daintily made, and in such good taste, that I thinkwe'll have to continue to employ her. Dressmakers, you know, areacknowledged vampires."
"I like the clothes she makes, too," said Patty, "but I had concludedthat that was the best way for me to economise, and I thought after thisI would make my own dresses."
"I don't think you will, my child," said Mr. Fairfield decidedly. "Youcouldn't make dresses fit to be seen, unless you took a course ofinstruction in dressmaking, and I'm not sure that you could then; and youhave quite enough to do with your school work and your practising. Whendid you propose to do this wonderful sewing?"
"Oh, I mean in vacation--to make my summer dresses."
"No; in vacation you're to run out of doors and play. Don't let me hearany more about sewing."
"All right," said Patty, with a sigh of relief. "I'm awfully glad not to,but I wanted to help somehow. I thought I'd make my green cloth costumefor Diana in the play."
"Yes, that would be a good thing to begin on," said Mr. Fairfield."Broadcloth is so tractable, so easy to fit; and that tailor-made effectcan, of course, be attained by any well-meaning beginner."
Patty laughed. "I know it would look horrid, papa," she said, "but as Iam to blame for all this outrageous extravagance, I want to economisesomewhere to make up for it."
"And do you call it good proportion to buy a great deal too much to eatand then go around in botchy, home-made clothes to make up for it?"
"No," said Patty, "I don't believe it is. What can I do? I want to dosomething, and I don't--oh, papa, I _don't_ want to give up those horsesthat you said you'd buy."
"Well, we'll fix it up this way, Patty, girl; we'll just pay off allthese bills and start fresh. The extra expense we'll charge to experienceaccount--experience is an awfully high-priced commodity, you know--andnext month, while we won't exactly scrimp ourselves, we'll keep our eyeon the accounts and watch them as they progress. As I've told you before,my darling, I don't expect you to become perfect, or even proficient, inthese things all at once. You will need years of experience before thetime can come when your domestic machinery will run without a flaw, if,indeed, it ever does. Now, never think of these January bills again. Theyare things of the past. Go and get your play-book, and let me hear youspeak your piece."