"All right, all right, go on, take good care of her."
The Old Lady was overjoyed, smiling from ear to ear. Although curious about why Elly had been carried back home by her grandson, it was clearly a good opportunity for them to mend their relationship, and she very sensibly chose not to disturb them.
Adam Jones carried Elly back to the bedroom, also helped her take off her coat and shoes. Throughout the process, Elly slept deeply, her expression twisted uncomfortably.
Adam went to the bathroom, brought back a basin of hot water, and, squatting beside Elly, began to wipe her face.
Elly, disturbed in her sleep, was not pleased. She raised her hand and slapped away Adam’s hand, "Go away, stop bothering me."
Her low voice carried a small complaint, like a stubborn wild cat, leaving Adam both amused and a bit at a loss.
Apart from having seen her a few times in childhood, Adam had known Elly for over eight years; yet, this was the first time he had seen her .
She was nothing like the fragile and compliant woman from their three years of marriage, nor the forceful and assertive woman from their reunion four years later. Intoxicated, Elly was more like a child.
The towel in his hand cooled, and he wrung out another, capturing Elly’s flailing hand with one of his while gently wiping her face with the other, a tenderness that was astonishing.
Gloria, holding the coffee at the door, witnessed the scene through the open doorway. Her young master, who had never waited on anyone, was now tenderly wiping the Young Miss’s face.
If Gloria hadn’t witnessed how the Young Master had neglected the Young Miss during those three years, she might have believed he loved her.
Stunned for a moment, Gloria finally snapped back to reality and stepped in softly, "Young Master, the coffee is ready."
Adam’s hands didn’t stop moving as he wiped Elly’s face, while he casually replied to Gloria.
After Gloria set down the coffee, she went out, thoughtfully closing the bedroom door behind her.
"Old Lady, Old Lady, something big has happened."
Gloria went downstairs in a hurry to report to the Old Lady what she had witnessed upstairs.
"What’s wrong? Did the Young Master hit the Young Miss?"
Seeing Gloria with a look of shock, the Old Lady’s brows knitted tightly, and she jumped up from the sofa, thinking to herself that if that scoundrel dared to lay a hand on Elly, she would go up and break his legs.
Gloria thought, if the Young Master had indeed hit the Young Miss, her expression wouldn’t be one of shock.
"The Young Master... he’s washing and wiping the Young Miss, he..."
Gloria vividly described the scene she had seen in Adam’s room to the Old Lady, making her beam with joy, her smile seeming ready to leap from her eyes.
"Good, good, very good."
The Old Lady repeated the word "good" several times, "Now that the scoundrel has come to his senses, I can die in peace."
"Old Lady, what are you talking about, such ominous words! If the Young Master and Young Miss reconcile, giving you a great-grandchild to dote on, why speak of dying?"
"Right, right, right, you’re right, Old Granny like me has been waiting for most of my life, isn’t it just to hold a big fat great-grandson?"
Momentarily, Adam had no idea that his grandmother and the servant had already jumped from him wiping Elly’s face to anticipating holding a great-grandchild. After he finished washing Elly’s face and saw that the coffee had cooled down enough, he went over and woke Elly up.