Patty's Friends

Patty Fairfield spends a bright April in London’s fashionable Savoy, surrounded by the endless stream of tea parties, garden outings, and invitations that define the season’s social whirl. As an American seventeen‑year‑old, she delights in the contrast between her own lively curiosity and the more restrained manners of her English peers, venturing alone to the National Gallery or Westminster Abbey while still cherishing the comfort of home‑like hotel rooms. Her easy‑going nature lets her slip into any setting, whether a grand musicale or a modest garden tea, with the same enthusiastic sparkle.

A small dilemma captures her attention: two equally tempting events clash at the same hour—a charming musicale at Mrs. Hastings’ and a picture exhibition at the New Gallery. With a friend’s playful counsel and her own wish to be “twins” and be in both places, Patty weighs the possibilities, using the decision as a gentle window into the choices that shape her summer abroad. The story paints a vivid portrait of youthful freedom, polite society, and the subtle humor that comes from navigating a world both familiar and delightfully foreign.