Answer:
The Pichot plantation is visited by Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Grant. They come in via the back entrance and tell the maid they want to see Mr. Pichot. Miss Emma, like her mother and grandmother before her, was the chef here for most of her life. Grant ran errands as his aunt cleaned and ironed. When he departed for college, he pledged never to return by the back door. Henry Pichot and Louis Rougon enter the kitchen after a brief wait. Miss Emma requests that Pichot persuade his brother-in-law to let Grant visit the jail and teach Jefferson. Pichot pauses, and Miss Emma recalls all the years she spent working for his family.