Virginia Henslowe's 1st Letter to Joyce

23 Old Hope Road
Savannah, Georgia

Dear Joyce,

I just want to say--thank you so much for your friendship with my son. I know that he 
will never be fully recovered, but I do think that your visits and your letters have been 
doing him more good than even his doctors.

It's not my place to say it, I know, but I can not help but wonder--If Mr. Winston had been as 
good a friend to Douglas as you've been, maybe there might have been a chance he would have 
recovered.

It's not a charitable thought, and I do apologize. I know Douglas won't hear a word against 
Mr. Winston, so maybe he had his reasons. And I am very truly sorry to hear that he's gone. I am 
sorry for his little girl.

She and Lillian Avery are both very nice women. They are very nice, and if I have an uncharitable 
thought about Mr. Winston, I just have to think about his daughter, and I let go of it. You have all 
been so very kind to Douglas and to this old lady who's his mother.

So I do hope that you won't think it terribly ungrateful of me when I say that I simply cannot give 
up the family mansion. Oh, I know you will understand, Joyce. Miss Avery and Mrs. Winston-Rogers 
(That is a mouthful of a name, isn't it?) don't understand that when you've lived so long in a 
place the family's been in for generations, you don't just abandon it because it's getting on in 
years. All the Henslowes are buried here, and one day, it will be my turn. I wouldn't want to rest 
anywhere else.

And maybe Douglas and his friends might be able to visit once in a while, only for a day, I know, 
but, like you said, I can get a little help in, tidy up the place. And I could not abandon 
Carruthers--why all he's ever done is take care of the grounds.

I don't mind visiting Richmond. If the foundation has enough money, I don't mind visiting it for a 
month or two at a time. But please tell those nice ladies and that nice Mr. de Genaro that I do not 
want to sell my home. You know how it is, Joyce. Some things you don't just abandon. I know it's 
different in the big cities up north, and I promise you I do not think any less of them. They just 
have never had a family home that's been with the family for so long.

But I will visit my son in the new place, and we will thank all of you for your charity in our prayers. 
And maybe at Thanksgiving, or if not, at Christmas, we'll have the place cleaned up and all of you can 
be my guests for a full meal--and if there are any young men any of you want me to invite (or if 
Mr. de Genaro wants to bring his wife) I would be delighted.

Very truly gratefully,
Virginia Henslowe