"Take him to his room, Sally, and see that he has a bath and change of
clothing. I'm sure he needs both."

I turned away without a word and followed the negro maid. Of course the
lady thought me a surly boor, but my heart was burning, for I had hoped
for a different welcome. As I passed along the hall and up the broad
staircase, the thought came to me that all of this would one day be mine,
should I choose to claim it, and then, with crimson cheeks, I put the
thought from me, as unworthy of my mother's son.

But my room looked very warm and cheerful even on this chilly day, and
from the window I could see broad fields of new-planted tobacco, and
beyond them the yellow road and then the river. I stood long looking out
at it and wondering what my life here had in store. Half an hour later,
word came from my grandfather that he wished to see me, and the same maid
led me down the stairs and to his study, I stumbling along beside her
with a madly beating heart. As I crossed the lower hall, I heard a burst
of childish laughter, and saw a boy and girl, both younger than myself,
playing near the chair where the lady sat. I looked at them with
interest, but the sight of me seemed to freeze the laughter on their
faces, and they gazed with staring eyes until I turned the corner and was
out of sight. But I had little time to wonder at this astonishing
behavior, for in a moment I was in my grandfather's office.

He was seated at a great table, and had apparently been going over some
accounts, for the board in front of him was littered with books and
papers. I saw, even beneath the disguise of his red face and white hair,
his strong resemblance to my father, and my heart went out to him on the
instant. For I had loved my father, despite the wild behavior which
marred his later clays. Indeed, I always think of him during that time as