She was extremely found of her father and very much afraid of him.She wanted to please him more than anything in the world,but although Doctor Sloper was usually kind to Catherine,he was very disappointed in her.He wanted to be proud of his daughter,but there was nothing to be proud of in poor Catherine.She was not elegant or pretty or charming like her mother.And by the age of eighteen Mrs Penniman had still not made her a clever woman.
Over the years,however,Doctor Sloper got used to his disappointment.'I expect nothing from her.'he said to himself.'If she gives me a sorprise,I will be happy.If she doesn't,I shall not lose anything.'
At this time it did not seem possible that Catherine would ever surprise anyone.She was always very quiet,saying so little in conversation that the seemed almost stupid.But she was silent becouse she was shy,uncomfortably,painfully shy.In face,she was a very gentle,sensitive girl.
Slowly Catherine realized that she was changing from a girl into a young lady.She begen wearing expensive clothes in very bright colours-rather to bright for Doctor Sloper.When she was twenty,she bought a red and gold evening dress,and did not seem to realize that it made her look ten years older.Doctor Sloper preferred simple,elegant things,and it annoyed him to think that his child was both ugly and badly dressed,though he kept this opinion private.
It must be added that Catherine was expected to become a very rich woman.She had already inherited some money from her mother,but the Doctor had been making twenty thousand dollars a year by his profession and saving half of it.One day,this growing fortune would pass to Catherine
In 1835 Doctor Sloper moved his family to a more fashionable address.He built himself a handsome,modern house in Washington Square,which was just around the corner from Fifth Avenue.Across the road from the house,in the centre of the square,was a pretty garden,which was open to everyone though few people ever used it.
Mrs Almond lived further out of the city in a house that was almost in the country.She had nine children,and Catherine went with Mrs Penniman to see her cousins every week.The little almonds were now growing up;the girls looked for suitable husbands.
When Mrs Almond gave a party for younger daughter Marian,who had become engaged to promisingyoungman,Catherine,naturally,was invited.At this time she was twenty-one years old,and Mrs Almond's party was the beginning of something very important.