Manhattan Reborn 1978

(In the previous chapter, I was imprisoned again ~ I made changes and applied, but it has not been approved yet.)

(This chapter will not affect the continuity of the plot for the time being.)

Europe, UK.

At noon~

Asthall Manor, Oxfordshire.

Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, stood in front of the ancestral home where she had lived since she was a child. She watched three cars slowly stop in front of her, and she could no longer hold back the smile on her lips. .

After David got out of the car, he happily trotted up to Deborah, looked up and down carefully, tilted his head, opened his arms, and asked with a smile.

"It's just been a month since I last saw you. Have you gained some weight again?"

"Hahaha~ Where can I find it?"

Deborah laughed, stepped forward, hugged David tightly, and said in his ear: "Merry Christmas, my child!"

"Hahaha~ I'm very happy."

"I'm even happier to be home and see you again!"

"...Hmm!" Deborah patted David's back gently with her hand and responded through her nose, feeling warm in her heart~

David lowered his head and took a "greedy" breath on Deborah's neck. He used his arms to lift her up and turned to Lilith, Cui Yingying, Zina, Elena and the little secretary Maggie. smiled.

"Hey~ look!"

"I can still hold Deborah..."

"Next time if I can't hold her, you must..."

"Hahaha~ Put me down, you bad boy!" Deborah smiled and grabbed David's ears. She said she wanted to come down, but her arms still hooked David's neck hard. .

"Ouch~ It hurts, it hurts!"

"Deborah, don't be like this...use your strength!"

"I...I don't dare to do it anymore, isn't that okay?"

"Hahaha~" Lilith and the girls couldn't help laughing when they saw David and Deborah interacting so closely~

Mr. Butler, who had been watching with a smile on his face, put his hands behind his back and couldn't help but laugh when he saw David hugging, surrounding and making Deborah happy like a noisy child.

The laughter of everyone filled this old manor, which has been inherited for more than 100 years, with a long-lost atmosphere of joy~

. . .

After half an hour.

In the dining room of the manor house.

David put a piece of roasted pigeon meat carefully prepared secretly by the cook Tenisha, put it into his mouth, tasted it with his eyes closed, and nodded slightly.

"Well~ your cooking skills have improved again!"

"Must be praised!"

"You don't have to keep trying anymore, Tenisha!"

"The recipe for this meal...can you give me a copy to take back and pass on to the children?"

"...Disgusting!" The cook Tenisha, who was standing at the dining table with an apron tied around her waist, just smiled and rolled her eyes at David's teasing, and then took her daughter Emma back to the kitchen. .

"Hahaha~" Deborah pointed at Tenisha and her daughter who "ran away in panic" and laughed again~

Lilith, who was visiting Deborah's house for the first time, felt it in the laughter of everyone. .David seemed to really relax as if he were back at home~

Zina, who was also a guest for the first time, gradually entered her most relaxed and comfortable state under the guidance of David, and had a "hot chat" with Deborah~

But Tilda Swinton, another guest at Deborah's ancestral estate for the first time, looked a little worried, and the smile on her face seemed far-fetched. .

Deborah, who was sitting in the main seat, had naturally noticed that Elena and Tilda, who came with David as guests today, looked very unnatural in their expressions and behavior.

But she didn’t want to ask anything~

These are matters between young people and should be left to them to resolve.

. . .

The pleasant lunch ended with Deborah’s laughter~

The butler and the cook's daughter Emma have already prepared classic English afternoon tea for everyone in the living room. .

Deborah felt that she had a big appetite and couldn't help eating more. She pulled Lilith to sit on the sofa with some annoyance and whispered.

"If I continue to eat like this, I won't really become fat, right?"

"My favorite dress...but what should I do?"

"Hahahaha~"

Lilith rolled her eyes at David, who was grinning evilly, and comforted: "You must have more than one skirt you like, right?"

Deborah pouted and widened her eyes. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and forehead made her look like a proud child as she smiled.

"yes!!"

"My favorite dress is the one I specially ordered when I attended the coronation ceremony of King George VI!"

"It's just...beautiful!"

"Oh?" David approached Deborah with curiosity in his eyes and asked.

"Were you present at the coronation ceremony of King George VI?"

"Ok!"

Deborah raised her hand and put it on David's head, looked at Tilda Swinton who was sitting quietly next to him, and smiled.

"In 1937, I was only 17 years old!"

"I even had a fight with my father and mother in order to have a beautiful dress of my dreams..."

"It happened that my second sister Pamela got married that year. She and my eldest sister Nancy secretly used their own private money + borrowed some money to help me realize my wish~"

"Later~ at the coronation ceremony of King George VI, I wore that skirt and followed my father and sister and sneaked in..."

"Hahaha~"

"You may not imagine that in the entire Westminster Abbey, almost all the ladies are wearing all kinds of gorgeous and perfect dresses like me..."

"Although, I was lucky to be in the corner of the auditorium on the second floor of Westminster Abbey and watched the entire ceremony."

"But I assure you, the king's enthronement ceremony... is extremely boring~"

"If I could make a choice again, I would definitely not sneak in and watch..."

"Hahahaha~" Everyone was amused by Deborah's humor~

David tilted his head and glanced at Tilda Swinton who was smiling with her lips pursed, then smiled at Deborah and asked.

"and then?"

Deborah spread her hands with an innocent face, shrugged and said with a smile: "Then, of course, it is the most unforgettable thing in my life... It's time for a headache~"

"My mother has been nagging me about the skirt for more than a year~"

"At that time, I felt like I was going to die..."

"I can only hide in school, hoping not to go home during holidays throughout the year and hear my mother's nagging again."

"Hahahaha~"

Deborah told David about her "embarrassing things" while laughing, which made David feel clearly. .The traces left by time on her~

Memories and unforgettable~

With the hostess Deborah "providing the rhythm and setting the tone" in front of them, David and Zina also shared many of their past memories, interesting stories, and embarrassing things with everyone on this cold and warm afternoon, which aroused laughter. The sound keeps coming~

. . .

The gate of the manor.

A black car stopped slowly.

The butler who was waiting at the door came forward and chatted with the driver in a low voice before returning to the living room of the big house.

After seeing Mr. Butler's signal, Deborah looked at Tilda Swinton and said with a smile: "The day before yesterday, when I was a guest at your home, I lost one of my favorite brooches~"

"Can you bring it back for me?"

Tilda Swinton blinked, stood up silently, bowed slightly to Deborah and said: "Thank you... I will!"

"Well~ let's go!"

"We'll wait for you at dinner!"

"..OK!"

. . .

Tilda Swinton is gone~

David stood at the window, watching the retreating shadow of the black car, and let out a long breath.

Deborah, who was sitting in her original position, naturally glanced at Lilith, Zina, Elena, Maggie and Cui Yingying, picked up the tea cup with a smile, and took a sip.

Lilith put the tea cup to her mouth and looked at David by the window, suddenly feeling a strange sour feeling in her heart. .

After a few minutes.

The silence that everyone in the living room kept silently was broken by David~

He returned to sit down next to Deborah, shook his head with a wry smile, and said.

"I thought... someone would come over with a shotgun and let me see his shooting skills..."

"...Hahahaha~"

Deborah couldn't help laughing, put down the tea cup, tapped David's forehead with her hand, and said like an elder who loves her children.

"If you abduct my daughter... I will definitely let you know how it feels to be punched in the face!"

"..." The helplessness and bitterness on David's face became even stronger, and he kept his head down and stopped talking.

Deborah smiled and looked at the housekeeper standing at the door of the living room. After seeing him nodding slightly, she said to the ladies.

"Can I talk to David?"

"Ok!"

Lilith stood up happily, smiled at the girls and said, "Let's go upstairs and take a rest first."

. . .

David and Deborah were the only ones left in the living room.

Both of them were silent amidst the ticking of the clock.

Mr. Butler brought a new pot of tea to the two of them and gently closed the door when he left.

Deborah poured herself a cup of hot tea, held it in her hand, looked at an oil painting hanging on the wall opposite, and whispered.

"Elizabeth has been very mature and stable since she was a child..."

"But her sister Margaret was more favored by their parents..."

"Elizabeth has known this since she was about 10 years old~"

"But she rarely talks about it to anyone!"

"Tilda is a very independent child..."

"The closed education she received over the years has made her full of strong curiosity and impulse towards everything in the outside world~"

"A few years ago, I heard similar complaints when I was chatting with her mother..."

"That's why I want you to take Tilda away from this place where she has been trapped for more than ten years, and go see the outside world~"

"But you...have chosen to give her all the boy's..."

"Well... what should I say here?"

David grinned, shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Fantasy!"

"Yes~ that's the word!"

"Hehe~"

Deborah held up her hands with the hot tea cup and continued with a faint smile on her lips.

"Girls of Tilda's age will almost always have strong feelings towards the boy in their fantasy..."

"I should say... intense what?"

"..curious!

"Hmm... Are you curious?"

"This seems a little inaccurate~"

"I think... it should be possession or desire..."

"what do you think?"

David's smile looked as ugly as if he was crying. He held his head and said, "The most we can do is hold hands. I don't have any thoughts about her that cross the line."

"I know!"

"You already have enough girlfriends to share with her..."

"Hehe~"

Deborah glanced at David secretly, with a "naughty" smile flashing at the corner of her mouth.

David pointed his finger at the center of his brow, and sighed as if he was giving up on himself: "I want to lie down for a while and have a rest..."

"Oh~"

"Then let's talk tonight."

"Need not!"

David moved and lay on Deborah's lap, closed his eyes and murmured.

"Just...5 minutes!"

"Uh..." Deborah held up the tea cup with both hands, looked down at David who was curled up, and after a few seconds, she said with a bit of laughter and tears.

"You kid..."

"Uh-huh, just five minutes!" David reached out and took one of Deborah's arms, put her hand on his neck, and muttered.

"..."

Deborah put down the tea cup with her other hand, held it in the air and paused for a while, then slowly placed it on David's hair and chuckled.

"Don't really fall asleep~ It will be very cold in here!"

"No~"

"With you here, it won't happen!"

"Hehe~"

Deborah smiled so hard that she narrowed her eyes, held David's head and moved a little closer to her arms, and couldn't help but look at several photo frames in the distance~

The ticking sound of the old mechanical clock seems to be full of hypnotic effect at this time.

When it returned to silence in the living room, both of them entered their own strange states.

David was in a trance, and all the images of Tilda Swinton flashed through his mind, and finally slowly settled on the first time the two met at Prince William's birthday party~

Is love at first sight really possible in this world?

Maybe~

But David felt that when he first met Tilda, apart from being surprised and pleasantly surprised, he didn't feel attracted to her at all~

Because before his eyes, Tilda's appearance as the bald Ancient One would always flash before his eyes. .

This annoying experience of two images often intersecting and overlapping makes it impossible for David to think of Tilda as her own. .A literary girl who is full of all kinds of fantasies about love~

No calls, no feeling. .What to do? !

Scumbag her?

meeting. .Die? !

Emm. .

Are you worrying too much?

Maybe, die. .A bit exaggerated~

But the price to pay is certainly not felt. .

David closed his eyes and frowned. To deal with his old problem of having random thoughts again, he could only choose to use separation and transposition to solve it~

Emm. .

Reason, after reoccupying the "high ground".

David quickly calculated the pros and cons, gains and losses, successes and failures in his mind. .

First of all!

It's simply impossible to happen between him and Tilda. .Vibrant love~

This kind of love that only young men and women can imagine is no longer what David is "good at". .

Secondly~

Judging from Tilda's performance and reaction in the past two days.

She must have been able to understand this, so she kept the distance between the two of them and didn't "bravely" shout out. .

Perhaps this kind of sadness will make Tilda bring a "regretful" end to her girlhood~

This kind of ending is definitely what everyone wants to see. .Bar?

but. .

For a girl like Tilda who is full of literature and art, perhaps she should use "magic" to kill what's in her heart. .

Or~

Go and copy another song. .I love you very much, but we are not suitable. Love poems for her?

Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain?

Wouldn't this be too cruel?

David, who was in a rational state, was once again in a dilemma. .