But there was no help for it, and Azalea, greatly chagrined, took the
baby back to Nurse.

"Here's your naughty little kiddy," she cried ruefully, handing
Fleurette over, but giving the child a loving caress, even as she spoke.

"Thank you, Miss Thorpe, I'm glad to get her back so soon."

And then Azalea ran away to her Indian booth, where she found her
assistant doing a rushing business with the Indian wares.

Indeed, everybody seemed anxious to buy the baubles of Vanity Fair. The
cause was a worthy one, the patrons were wealthy and generous, and the
vendors were charming and wheedlesome.

So the coin fairly flowed into their coffers and as the afternoon wore
on they began to fear they wouldn't have enough goods to sell the second
day.

Azalea was a favourite among the young people. She looked a picture in
her Indian dress and she was in rare good humour. She tried, too, to be
gracious and gentle, and committed no _gaucheries_ and made no ignorant
errors.

"You've simply made that girl over," Elise said to Patty, as the two
spoke of Azalea's growing popularity.

Patty sighed. "I don't know," she said, thoughtfully. "There's something
queer about Azalea. Little Billee has said so from the first, and now I
begin to see it, too."

"She _is_ queer," assented Elise, "but she's so much nicer than she was
at first. Ray Gale is very devoted to her."

"I know it. I like Ray, too, but sometimes,--think,--he knows something
about her that he won't tell us."

"For mercy's sake,--what do you mean? knows something about your own
cousin that you don't know!"

"Oh, Zaly isn't our own cousin, you know. But--well, never mind now,
Elise. This isn't a good time to talk confidentially."

Crowds of people were constantly arriving, and among them were many of
Patty's old friends. Many, too, of her newer acquaintances, who lived in
Arden and also in the nearby towns.

Patty was charming and delightful to everybody, remembering that she was
in a way hostess as well as a sales-lady.

Fleurette graced her mother's booth with her presence, later in the
afternoon, and quite redeemed her reputation for good nature, by smiling
impartially on everybody, and gurgling a welcome to all who looked at
her.

The little garments and toys of Patty's booth were soon sold out, for
they were choice bits of needlework and found ready buyers.

And then one enthusiastic young father wanted to buy the playhouse
itself, in which Patty had disp