Chapter 257 Anna Wants to Sit Next to Uncle Frederick
On the anniversary of Mrs. Swift's death.
After breakfast, Amelia took Anna upstairs to change clothes. When they came back down, they heard voices chatting in the living room.
Anna, still drowsy on Amelia's shoulder, perked up immediately upon hearing Frederick's voice and whispered in Amelia's ear, "It's Uncle Frederick."
Amelia looked at her bright eyes, feeling a bit helpless.
Frederick had spent quite a bit of time with Anna these past few days, so she must have dreamed of him last night, calling out "Uncle Frederick" even in her sleep.
Amelia, who was already a light sleeper, was awakened and couldn't help but think of Frederick all night.
Downstairs.
Frederick sat on the sofa, dressed in a black casual outfit today, which made him look less solemn and more approachable.
Anna called out, "Uncle Frederick." Her voice was full of joy.
Frederick lifted his eyebrows instantly and stood up with a gentle smile. He wanted to reach out and hold the child but remembered Amelia's resistance yesterday. So, he awkwardly lowered one hand and only used the other to pat Anna's head gently.
Amelia noticed this and raised her delicate eyebrows slightly.
She had gotten up early today, intending to visit Mrs. Swift's grave early to avoid running into Frederick or Mrs. Swift's students. But Amelia hadn't expected him to come to the Davis Manor.
When Frederick had brought them back last night, she hadn't even invited him inside.
Amelia thought he wouldn't come today.
Vincent saw Amelia and Anna coming down and smiled kindly.
He gently said, "Amelia, I've arranged to play chess with some friends today, so I won't be joining you to pay respects to Mrs. Swift. Luckily, Frederick is here to take you. You can go together."
With Frederick already standing in the Davis Manor's living room, Amelia had no chance to refuse.
Susan prepared Anna's daily necessities, placing them in a tote bag and bringing them to the living room.
Frederick reached out to take the tote bag.
Seeing Amelia holding Anna, Susan let go and handed the tote bag to Frederick.
Frederick took the tote bag and checked its contents.
After inspecting it, he looked up at Susan, asking, "Did you forget to put in the wet wipes?"
Susan leaned over to check and saw that there were, indeed, no wet wipes in the bag. She quickly fetched a new pack and placed it inside.
Susan said, "My memory is terrible."
The old pack of wet wipes ran out yesterday, and Susan forgot to put in a new one.
Susan said thankfully, "Thanks to Mr. Hastings' attentiveness. With the temperature so high today, Anna would have been fussy without wet wipes to clean her hands."
Amelia hadn't expected Frederick to be so familiar with Anna's daily needs.
Amelia hadn't intended to go with Frederick to pay respects to Mrs. Swift. Still, seeing his attentiveness to Anna, Amelia suddenly felt it might be good to have some help.
After placing the wet wipes in the tote bag, Frederick checked once more to ensure nothing was missing, then looked at Amelia. He asked, "Shall we go?"
Amelia, holding Anna, nodded. "Yes."
There were a few steps from the Davis Manor's living room to the yard.
As Amelia was about to step down, Frederick reached out to block her and then walked ahead.
Watching his actions, Amelia paused, recalling the scene from last night.
There were not as many steps at the Davis Manor as there were at the Hastings Manor. There were just a few.
His meticulousness made Amelia feel as if she were incapable of managing her own life.
Frederick's car was parked in the Davis Manor's yard.
Felix stood by the car, holding the rear door open, and greeted Amelia as she approached with Anna in her arms. "Good morning, Ms. Davis, Miss Anna."
Amelia nodded slightly and casually asked, "Did you return to Kasfee today?"
She hadn't seen Felix with Frederick yesterday.
Felix nodded, "Yes, I returned to Kasfee early this morning."
Amelia nodded again and bent down to get into the car with Anna.
Frederick noticed how amiable Amelia was with Felix. He couldn't help but think about how she had only said one sentence to him earlier.
Frederick shot a cold glance at Felix.
Felix, noticing the unfriendly look, felt a moment of confusion but quickly composed himself and respectfully reached out to take the tote bag from Frederick.
Felix said, "Mr. Hastings, let me take that."
Frederick didn't hand over the tote bag but instead bent down and got into the car with it.
Frederick had worked hard to create this opportunity with the tote bag and wasn't about to let Felix take it away.
Felix felt a moment of bewilderment but didn't dwell on it. He closed the car door, walked around the front of the car, and got into the driver's seat.
As Felix started the car, he glanced in the rearview mirror. He saw that the tote bag occupied a seat next to Frederick, who was leaning closer to Amelia and Anna.
So that was why Mr. Hastings didn't hand over the tote bag. It had a purpose.
Felix prided himself on being more perceptive than other assistants. Otherwise, he might have ruined Mr. Hastings' plan.
Thinking of the junior assistant, Felix recalled a message he had received for help some time ago.
The assistant: [Mr. Hastings was made to cry by Ms. Davis. What should I do?]
Felix had been utterly shocked when he saw that message.
Drawing on his years of experience working with Frederick, Felix came up with a solution for the junior assistant.
Felix: [Pretend you didn't see it.]
In such situations, pretending not to see anything was the best course of action.
If he pretended not to see it, then Frederick hadn't cried.
However, Felix was intensely curious about what Amelia had said to Frederick to make him cry.
Felix regretted not returning to Kasfee sooner and not being on the front lines to understand the situation.
After all, having worked with Frederick for many years, Felix had never seen him cry.
In the back seat, Frederick leaned comfortably against the chair, surrounded by the faint, soothing scent of Amelia. This scent inexplicably made him feel at ease.
Anna shifted from Amelia's arms to his side. Frederick thought she wanted him to hold her, but when he reached out, Anna moved his hand away and crawled over to the tote bag.
She sat with her back against Frederick, rummaging through the tote bag with her small hands.
Frederick could only protect her with his hand to prevent her from falling.
Amelia's gaze followed her. When she saw Anna pull out a bottle of pre-mixed formula and start drinking, Anna rubbed her temples and said with a hint of helplessness, "Anna, didn't we already have breakfast?"
Anna was at the age when she should have been eating solid food, but after drinking milk, she often refused to eat anything else.
So, Amelia had been trying to limit her milk intake.
Anna giggled. After being caught sneaking milk, she took one more sip before reluctantly capping the bottle.
But Anna didn't put the bottle back in the tote bag. Instead, she held it in her arms, glanced at Amelia, and then rested her head on Frederick's arm.
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