"He
won't--won't keep you--that is, not many years--will he?"
"Why,--what do you--" I began to ask him, when Father came back into
the room and I don't know to this day what the Idol meant to say, nor
do I yet know what he meant by drawing himself up to his full Byrd
pride height, while he looked Father straight in the eye, both of them
alarmingly serious, until Father's eyes began to smile with what
seemed to be warm confidence. At which the Idol let go my hand and
began to talk about steel. Oh, I am so glad, glad I am here to help
Roxanne to cherish such a genius as he is and that I know now for our
whole lives no pride or anything cruel can come between him and me any
more! I can keep him perpetually safe on the pedestal of my love and I
feel that it will be my right to help feed and patch him--only now he
can always buy new trousers.
And for all time I have found Father!
That night when I went in to commune with Mother like I do now more
and more, I found him in my chair in the corner but out of her sight,
and he drew me down on his knee for the first time in all my life. We
sat quiet awhile and then he came into my room with me and we stood at
the window and looked out over the Harpeth Valley, where Providence
Road lay like a silver ribbon as it wound its way over Providence
Knob.
Pages:
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222