It was Serena who first held Virginia in her arms and tenderly rocked the squirming red mite across her ample bosom. During those long days and nights of watching in the last illness of Elinor Dale, it was Serena who, with undisguised distrust of the trained nurse, was in and out of the sick room almost every hour. It was Serena who closed Elinor Dale's eyes, and it was Serena who held the motherless child with great tears rolling down her black face as she stood by the open grave. No formal agreement held Serena after the death of her mistress. She saw the home as a storm tossed craft, from whose deck the navigator had been swept, drifting aimlessly upon the sea of domesticity. Unhesitatingly, she had assumed the vacant command which carried with it the mothering of Virginia. In the early months of his bereavement, Obadiah Dale gave some attention to the establishment which he had created for his wife's enjoyment. Yet all things followed a well managed routine and, more important than all to a man of his nature, the monthly bills evidenced economical judgment. Quick to recognize a valuable subordinate, Obadiah saw no necessity for immediate change. Serena had excellent ideas in child training. Although in her mind Virginia was a young lady of position who could properly demand appropriate attention, yet must she learn to meet the responsibilities of her station. Obadiah was assured that his daughter in Serena's charge was in the care of one who loved her. From time to time he made vague plans for the child's future. As they were to commence at an indefinite time they never materialized. More and more the business activities of the manufacturer occupied his time, and slowly but surely the duty of Virginia's upbringing was shifted to the negro woman. When Virginia was five, Serena told her employer, "Dis yere chil' orter be in school a learnin' mo' an' ah kin teach her," and so the mill owner's daughter was started upon her scholastic career at a kindergarten. Obadiah never knew the worries of this illiterate negro woman in planning suitable clothing for his child. No man could appreciate that watchful eye ever ready to copy styles and materials from the garments of children of families deemed worthy as models. Virginia's education was continued under the guidance of a Miss Keen who conducted a select school for young ladies in South Ridgefield. This institution, highly esteemed as a seat of learning by Serena, offered courses usually terminating when pupils refused longer to attend the establishment. In its most prosperous years its enrollment never exceeded twenty misguided maidens. Now, Virginia had arrived at the age of eighteen, a serious, rather shy girl, whose youth had been spent under the supervision of an old negro woman, narrowed by the influence of a small school and neglected by a busy father.