Female Novel
Chapter 141
The first day of the weekend was going splendidly for Morwenna, her heart fluttering with a tiny leapof joy. It was her first time being smitten with someone, seeing and feeling only him in her heart andmind.
It didn’t matter to her that Stuart wasn’t responding; just a small acknowledgment from him couldkeep her happy for hours. Unfortunately, she was unaware that often reality was quite different fromwhat she perceived.
By the time the two of them returned to Hetfield's Homestead, the sky had already darkened. Stuartled the way, while Morwenna, laden with a mishmash of shopping bags, followed behind.
Norbert watched the scene with a slightly raised eyebrow, pondering if the two had gone outshopping.
"Has the lad finally come to his senses?" he wondered silently.
Looking around, Morwenna noticed that only Norbert was in the grand hall; the rest of the Hetfieldfamily was busy elsewhere. Phineas and Sabrina were tied up with work, Yara was busy outshopping or at the beauty salon, and her husband rarely visited. The younger generation consistedof two cousins; one was woking at Hetfield Group and the other was still in sixth grade. Yara’s fourdaughters were all enrolled in various dance and piano classes over the summer break.
So, most of the time, the mansion was quiet, occupied only by Norbert.
Suddenly, Morwenna felt a pang of sympathy for Norbert, alone in the vast, silent house.
“Norbert, I’m back!” she called out with enthusiasm, breaking the quiet.
Norbert, usually stern, replied with a rare touch of lightness, “Stuart, lad, making a lady carry all thebags, where are your manners?”
Stuart paused mid-step on the stairs.
Jumping to his defense, Morwenna cut in, “Norbert, I insisted on hauling them myself. I've got moremuscle than I look; I could even lift Stuart if I had to!”
At this, Stuart was speechless, and Norbert couldn’t help but chuckle.
Realizing her faux pas, Morwenna quickly changed the subject, “Oh, I need to check on the malt inthe kitchen; it should be ready by now.”
She dropped her bags and hurried to the kitchen. Indeed, the malt had grown nicely and was readyfor making malt syrup the next day. Morwenna washed her hands and began soaking someglutinous rice and corn for the syrup. It needed to soak for several hours before she could steam itthe next morning. Making malt syrup was a lengthy process.novelbin
After she was done, Morwenna returned to find that Stuart had gone upstairs and Norbert hadresumed his reading.
Morwenna approached him, plucked the book from his hands, and declared spiritedly, “Norbert, toomuch reading is bad for the eyes. Come on, let’s go to the yard. I’ve got some baby spinachsprouting. What vegetables do you like? We can buy some seeds and plant them in the garden.”
Without waiting for a response, she pulled Norbert toward the yard.
With permission, Morwenna had taken over a small section of the Hetfield Homestead’s garden andplanted various vegetables there. She was always bursting with energy, even when she barely hadtime to sleep, she remembered to water her plants.
Showing off the tender spinach shoots, she boasted, “Norbert, look how great they’re doing! I’vebeen gardening since I was five. Back in the mountains, the old folks used to say I grew the biggestand best veggies.”
“Indeed, they’re looking good,” Norbert replied, a touch of pity in his voice for the hardships she hadendured, yet never complained about.
Then, taking charge, Morwenna suggested, “Norbert, why don’t you start weeding this small plotwhile I loosen up the soil? It’s all empty here. What do you think about planting some tomatoes andpeppers?”