Natchez

I was not supposed to be there.  This place, with its canopied beds and winding staircases, seemed very grown up.  But, I was only nine years old.  I was supposed to be at least ten before I stayed there.  Then, why was I there, at the most unusual hotel I had ever seen - until then?  The answer, actually, was simple.  I was there because of Marguerite.

Marguerite was my great aunt, my grandfather’s sister.  She lived in Natchez, Mississippi, and worked as a hostess at Monmouth Plantation.  Monmouth was a beautiful antebellum home situated on a hill.  Once owned by an American general, the house had many lives.  More than one century after it was built, Monmouth became a bed and breakfast and Marguerite became its greatest ambassador.

Marguerite was one of those people who seemed to never meet a stranger.  Even in a large group, she could make you feel like the most important person in the room.  Marguerite also was a great storyteller.  On any given afternoon, she could be found leading groups of guests around Monmouth’s grounds, relating stories of how the home was built and of the people who had lived there.

Over the years, my family and I made many trips to Natchez and every time, we would go to Monmouth.  And every time, Marguerite would lead us around the old house.  It was so pretty and had so much history.  I wanted to stay there one day.  And one day, I did.