“I don’t know exactly; it depends on uncle’s plans; but probably about January.”

“Oh, yes, we shall surely be here then, and probably living in a home of our own.  Of course, I mean a temporary home, but not a hotel.  I hope you will come to see us.”

“Indeed I will.  I wish we could have seen more of you this week, but uncle has rushed us about sightseeing so fast that there was no time for social calling.”

“We saw Bert Chester and his crowd,” said Patty; and then she told about the day at Versailles.

“What a lark!” exclaimed Guy; “I wish I had been along.  But you must go somewhere with us when we’re here in January, won’t you?”

“I’d like to,” said Patty, “but I can’t promise.  It all depends on the Farringtons.  I’m their guest, so of course I’m under their orders.”

“Well, it won’t be my fault if we don’t have some fun when we come back here,” declared Guy, “and I shall do all I can to bring it about.”

When they left the museum it was getting late in the afternoon, and Lisette decreed that her young ladies must go home at once.  The Van Ness crowd raised great objection to this, but Lisette was obdurate, and calling a cab, she ushered the girls in, and then getting in herself, gave the order for home.

Patty couldn’t help laughing at the serious way in which Lisette took care of them, but Mrs. Farrington told her it was quite right, and she would have been displeased had Lisette done otherwise.

“You don’t quite understand, my dear,” she said kindly, “the difference between the conventions of Paris and our own New York.  It may seem foolish to you to be so carefully guarded, but I can’t quite explain it to you so you would understand it, and therefore I’m going to ask you to obey my wishes without question, and more than that, when Lisette is temporarily in charge of you to obey her.”

“Indeed I will, dear Mrs. Farrington,” said Patty heartily; “and truly I wasn’t rebelling the leastest mite.  I’m more than ready to obey you, or Lisette, either, only it struck me funny to be put into a cab, like babies in a baby-carriage by their nursemaid.”

“You’re a good girl, Patty, and I don’t foresee a bit of trouble in taking care of you.  To-morrow I shall feel better, and I’ll go shopping with you girls myself, and perhaps we may have time to look in at a few other places.”

So Patty danced away, quite content to take things as they came, and sure that all the coming days were to be filled with all sorts of novelties and pleasures.

Their purchases had been sent home, reaching there before they did themselves, and Patty immediately fell to work on the albums, placing the cards in the little slits which were cut in the leaves to receive them.

The days flew by like Bandersnatches.  Patty herself could not realise what became of them.  She wrote frequently to the people at home and tried to include all of her young friends in America in her correspondence, but it seemed to be impossible, and so finally she took to writing long letters to Marian, and asking her to send the letters round to the other girls after she had read them.