Chapter 14 Summary

Tante Sophie, suddenly depressed, retreats to the pantry to be alone. Pieter comes to her there, asks her what is wrong, and she replies disconsolately that she is angry that she was born. For a moment, he says nothing, then answers that it is he that should never have been born. She asks him what he means but he dismisses it off-hand. She tries to see his face, but he will not let her. She is determined to know what is wrong, but the moment has passed and she can do nothing more. Pieter asks her to get coffee for them.

She remembers the time when, as a child, he climbed a tree on the family farm, Buitenverwagting, which means, Beyond Expectation. His parents had gone out visiting and left him, sick in bed, in her care. By the time the servants had...