Chapter 140 Old Grievances Laid to Rest
Wallace took a long, deep breath, then slowly exhaled, as if struggling to calm the turbulent emotions within. He didn't respond immediately, instead walking to the window to gaze out at the heavy darkness of night.
After a long moment, he finally turned around. The stern expression that had appeared due to old grudges had faded from his face, replaced by a sense of enlightenment and release that came after experiencing life's vicissitudes.
Wallace waved his hand and spoke, "The Campbell family acted dishonorably back then, and the Windsor family suffered losses, too. If we really wanted to settle this messy account, we couldn't sort it out in three days and nights. But I know what matters!"
He walked back to Charles. "The grievances of the previous generation belong to the previous generation. Emily did nothing wrong. Growing up in that Johnson family, enduring so much injustice, yet still maintaining proper values—that's already incredibly admirable."
"Charles, you're my son. Your happiness matters more than anything else. I can see that you truly care about her and want to build a good life together. Emily is strong-willed and overthinks things, but she has a pure heart and treats the children well. She's a good person and an excellent mother. I won't, and will never allow, the old feuds to be held against her!"
The heavy stone that had been weighing on Charles's heart finally lifted, replaced by a surge of warmth, "Dad, thank you."
Wallace glared at him and said, "Your focus right now shouldn't be thanking me, but figuring out how to change Emily's opinion of you and get you two back to normal!"
"But Dad, Emily, she..." Charles looked troubled.
"No buts!" Wallace interrupted him. His eyes gleamed as an idea struck him. "Didn't Emily say she needed to stay with Emma because she might have nightmares? Fine! Leave Emma to me! I absolutely adore these kids. Tonight I'll sleep in the children's room and keep them company! As for where you and Emily sleep, I don't care, but you're not sleeping separately."
Wallace was decisive. Without waiting for Charles's reaction, he headed straight for the children's room.
"Emily? Are you asleep? I wanted to discuss something with you." Wallace's voice was gentle.
"Dad, it's so late. What's the matter?"
Wallace's face broke into a kindly smile, "Emily, I want to ask you a favor. Seeing these three children today, my heart is just bursting with joy. At my age, I don't have many opportunities left to sleep with my grandchildren. Could you possibly let me spend tonight in the children's room with them? I promise I'll take good care of them!"
Wallace's humble attitude and reasonable request left Emily in a difficult position.
Looking at Wallace's hopeful expression, and remembering that she'd just used Emma's potential nightmares as an excuse. Now that Wallace was volunteering to stay with the children, if she insisted on sleeping with them herself, she'd seem both unreasonable and completely dismissive of an elder's feelings and wishes.
Emily struggled internally for a moment, then finally nodded with some resignation, "Of course. Thank you for doing this."
Wallace immediately beamed, "Oh, it's no trouble at all! My pleasure! You two go get some rest!"
With that, he cheerfully entered the children's room and gently closed the door.
Watching the children's room door close, Emily's discomfort immediately intensified.
If she wasn't staying with the kids, where could she sleep?
In a room with Charles? Absolutely not!
She immediately turned to a young maid who was cleaning nearby, "Excuse me, are there any other clean guest rooms available? Any room will do."
The maid stopped her work, maintaining professional courtesy, but her eyes quickly glanced at Charles, who was casually leaning against the wall nearby while closely monitoring the situation.
After receiving an almost imperceptible nod from Charles, she immediately bowed her head slightly, her tone carrying utmost apology. "Mrs. Windsor, I'm terribly sorry. Mr. Wallace Windsor's arrival was so sudden today that everyone was busy preparing the main house for his visit. The guest rooms in the side wing haven't been cleaned yet. They're quite dusty, and the bedding hasn't been changed—they're really not fit for sleeping. My sincere apologies."
The excuse sounded perfectly reasonable and unassailable.
Emily's brow furrowed slightly.
Windsor Manor had numerous staff—they couldn't manage to clean a few guest rooms?
Her suspicions were immediately aroused.
"That's alright, I'll take a look myself." She started toward the hallway leading to the guest room area. She refused to believe that in all of Windsor Manor, there wasn't a single bed she could sleep in.
However, the moment she took half a step, a warm, large hand gently but firmly grasped her arm.
"Don't bother." Charles had somehow appeared silently beside her, his expression remarkably composed, as if he genuinely had her best interests at heart. "If they say the rooms aren't ready, they must really be messy and dirty. How about this—I'll go check if any of them are in slightly better condition. Wait here for me."
As he spoke, he naturally positioned himself in front of Emily, taking long strides toward the guest room hallway with movements so swift that Emily had no chance to stop him.
Emily stared suspiciously at his retreating figure.
What was Charles up to? She waited patiently in the living room, but her heart harbored an increasingly ominous feeling.
Within two minutes, Charles returned, his expression showing just the right amount of frustration and helplessness. He shook his head at the maid, then turned to Emily. "Unfortunately, none of them is suitable for sleeping. Especially... well, it seems like some old plumbing is failing or maybe mice got into something—several guest rooms have mysteriously soaked bedding with large wet patches. They feel damp to the touch and are completely unusable. What terrible timing."
He spoke with such conviction that, as if the effect wasn't convincing enough, he walked to the nearest guest bedroom door and pushed it wide open.
Inside, what should have been a luxury bed with fresh linens now had a large, dark water stain right in the center! The irregular shape looked extremely suspicious and conspicuous! It looked like he deliberately got it wet.
Emily stood in the doorway, staring at that glaring wet patch, her face completely frozen.
'Charles! Could you be any more obvious?'
Emily's gaze shifted to the door of Kate's room, not far away. Right! She could stay with Kate! Surely she could squeeze in for one night?
Without hesitation, she walked to Kate's door and knocked as she said, "Kate? Are you asleep? Kate?"
Silence from inside.
Emily knocked a bit louder. "Kate? It's me, Emily."
Still no response from inside.
Emily waited patiently for about ten seconds, then prepared to knock again...