Summer At Biltmore

Chapter 1

We receive letters all the time. I never believed that any of them would change my life. The one from George Washington Vanderbilt the second did. I have never known my father to still talk to his old university friend. I don't believe they even know how the other is doing. To say in the least I was completely surprised that my father got a letter asking him to come to a house called Biltmore. All I know is here in New York City, we don't name out houses only our buildings.

The letter came on a spring day. Mr.Vanderbilt asked my father, mother, and me to come stay with him and his family for the entire summer. My father told me he has a daughter a year older than I am, that she is very smart. He also says we should get along well, she could be one of the best friends I could ever had. Probably, I don't have a lot of friends. I actually can't wait to have her friendship. I hope she is humble enough to be friends with me. Something in my gut is telling me she has a lot of money, we do also but some rich people; people richer than us have nothing better to do than turn up their noses at the slightly less wealthy.

“Imagine it Lily, a whole summer at Biltmore. There's something new to do everyday. You can go horseback riding, bowling in their bowling ally, swim in their indoor pool, and read from a choice of 10,000 books they have in their library.”

“I can do that all here, what is so great about Biltmore?!” I say this in a slightly raised voice, not too loud so my father feels i'm talking back to him.

“Well sweetheart, I guess you don't know about Biltmore and how it is the largest home in America. Its like his own little castle tucked in the Appalachian Mountains.Hell he owns half a mountain.” He says this with so much pride and joy. It seems that rainbows should be flying out with his words.