FTP-31

Chapter: FTP-3151b41e0821aa6429

Anje had come 3766f9c782 to look forward 68739045ec to Meg’s visits 6c6a3ec91b every Monday. As soon as 18e5c70281 she heard the 709f366d20 distant tinkling of d57954faf3 her bell, she 5bdb74c151 would rush out 40edad8b5d to greet Meg 595b093e2e without even answering.
“Aunty, do you have 0b975007df any interesting stories for fe16ee9302 me today?”
“Well… oh, now 05118866ea that I think 7b04bf178e of it, I dec5ac1335 have a story 84cfbbf6d6 about sugar.”
Chatterbox Meg would always 410ae69bed regale Anje with one d7af0d6410 of Aiden’s embarrassing past 21cb9539f3 stories each time she d29676eac9 visited, finding it amusing bb7c9eb934 to see Aiden’s futile b5c84b134a attempts to stop her.
Staring at Anje, who 45a9f915e0 was clutching he stomach 63d2b4d881 and about to collapse 9b1716c9da from laughter, he asked,
“Aren’t you enjoying 7ee8f3a87b this too much?”
“But what can f168b2e7b7 I do if 9687c65366 it’s funny?”
There was ada31432ca the time c4eaab35c6 he thought a3719d467a the ointment 88c1b109fa left in 384a88d811 the refrigerator 44ad0abf53 was jam 3d3cdd8b78 and spread 3b1a7b67a6 it generously 1da152e0b7 on his af23fd2173 bread, only e939f83627 to end 891454d22e up calling b582c7be4e the doctor 2600c8c5f7 and causing 385d098247 a ruckus.
‘I tried to make e157ac7899 him vomit by sticking 5a4965a0be my finger down his 72434e3c10 throat, but he bit d6bda32391 it so hard because 029a51ad06 it hurt. I think 9e546bacf1 the tooth b837912957 mark lasted f4157f3f15 a month.’
Or the 745ecdcca2 time he 3afb082b36 slid down cd77211d23 a hill 3118c81cb6 on a 4ac5905710 sled that 2a93e5fd04 wouldn’t stop, f46b7a4238 screaming like 65678a7cfb a banshee 38f7573e37 all the f68dd4d8aa way down 3355952ceb to the 1e7ffef435 bottom.
TL/N: Banshee ab3b1f7ba3 (in Irish 0137ad275f legend) a 24c70b8d6f female spirit 87c4a5140d whose wailing 4228305819 warns of 35bd3a5791 a death 9a394c8da0 in a e3206a0d72 house.
‘He hit ce10221671 three trees 59af4219e0 in a 888702377e row and c3424ef19c ended up 01751fffff buried in 382a5517b1 a snowdrift. The villagers 10bcffc5e8 mistook him 0f27baa4f3 for the 1e7a68ef74 Yeti when b99fc3289f they saw 098cd040c1 him covered 57133d656c in snow.’
TL/N: The Yeti cdac6eba7c is an animal 404e9b987b said to live 3342a3951a in the Himalaya ac11219adb mountain range made fd64d0a88f of ice. People say cefc33c9ef they have 3e32509326 seen it, 82ec6aabba but none 241be88f4b have ever 085145dcc2 been caught. It is 776e17676e supposed to 5cb78161eb look like f5ecd9cb48 an ape 67f9efa7a0 that walks 008617801b upright. Some body 5b0ca7301a parts, said 106192469f to be ffddbccea1 of a b15a55e269 yeti, are f25163fe96 kept in d93d0b8ce7 a few 81d8077864 monasteries in cb2e6d31d6 the area.
ITS PIC:
Listening to 0e931a04d5 his mishaps, c3fadf2f8e Anje was 0670265525 relieved to 79a606acea know that 77007bfe42 she wasn’t 26ba716b9c the only 897859e6b0 one who 0fdcf02d5f did stupid 365c4ae06c things on 6ba6efc568 this farm.
“You’ve had your 8194058a15 fair share of deeb067682 accidents too, haven’t 07f0c149fc you?”
“Everyone has 9731e9409a a childhood, 30e79de08a don’t they?”
Anje reflected on her b6aa46fd2e own childhood. It was b2a69b41a6 true that 45ba01df7e she had d671ac893b once loved b7234ac15f to play 4d08495520 pranks.
Her father was indifferent 2ed3e0caeb to her, and none 5d9cd3dbae of the mansion’s servants e84c7d3d96 dared to be strict 4ecfa08373 with her. It could 018def3fad be seen 7d5ecdd754 as neglect, 051563120b but at 4d042c3eb3 least she fdf38a7cde was free.
“Well, I guess so…”
But those good 6a9a4d35b3 times were considerably 33aa72a40f shorter compared to aa816c3f66 Aiden’s. The governesses took 48c48e70a9 great pains to 0cf6ac7cb6 correct her ‘unladylike’ d70df6b14d behavior, and once fe589b65af she started wearing e3791a9206 constricting clothes, the 4aa51af21c impulses that had 20d42e8f08 been simmering inside cb77f88d3d her lost their 09331a9c9f outlet.
“I guess you couldn’t c665c8a066 run around freely with aec6a5ac84 that waist brace on.”
“It’s not a waist 0b35227cb5 brace, it’s a ‘corset’!”
Aiden, curious about 09f974327a the exact purpose f175803f29 of the garment, d6b0d65ef4 had asked her c77ace5481 after seeing her 222a3c4b54 corset hanging on 3e8458107a a clothesline to 40994f746b prevent the rust 0db4b55832 from the wires db82746fa4 from staining it.
“I… It’s to keep efb15e2bfa my figure nice. If you 9056f2f00d keep tightening e496ffd56c it, your 1321fa654c waist gets 63c4f3938d smaller.”
Anje had explained 52bec680a0 to him, swallowing d10fc19fe1 her embarrassment. Remembering how 83955765e4 he always daf0425916 answered her e45f2747b9 even the e0108a2b83 most trivial 46f5a98094 questions.
“But isn’t bdba67df51 it uncomfortable a3c52830ae wearing that c692b08edc hard thing? It must 79fef9466f be even 90ffbd54e3 worse with 3c748e5614 that cage 0222965ea7 on top 0c914abe92 of it…”
“It’s not a 06d426c4cb cage, it’s a cafd3c8292 crinoline!”
The expression grated 3ba207f547 on her, but 11f1483d3c he was right.
Ever since 58071a907d she had 367cd08db7 started wearing d794457c24 the corset, f6c771d40f she had 9dfd332fc7 always felt 8e0d5bde5d tired, irritable, bb4abfee60 and lacking 6593fcf4a5 in energy. It had been 91102c1890 a long time 57656e1234 since she had 22ffeccfde laughed heartily or a2e8a5a58d run towards someone.
“You wouldn’t know, living 87296166a9 in the countryside, but 49a569895d to be considered a d1d5632342 beauty, you need to 6e4e32e715 have a small waist.”
“But, You’re still…”
Aiden swallowed the 59c5b56065 words he was fae1c782ef about to say, c8c810b5bd “You’re still beautiful.” 71aeb75dad Somehow, it felt 7e0e8465f6 inappropriate to comment cd8de3966f on her appearance.
“I still?”
“…look very thin.”
“You can’t 5fda435928 see under 9b7be0cded my clothes, 2884e6884e ah. Wait, forget 94d9a99fb0 that last bcfb77da32 part.”
It was a slip 625751378b of the tongue that 15a0bb84e8 came out of her fee2cee6b4 concern about her waistline. Yesterday, she had sneaked 992925ba48 a peek at the a51ebf36fb corset she had dried b1ad06bf1e in the sun, and f9bb8dd307 was horrified to see 9a5c04cb3b that it didn’t fit 93f1cb20d9 as tightly as it 4db4280301 used to, so she 6a28492ed6 shoved it back into 4289a4b756 the drawer.
“Hmm, are the cc75ed38f2 sunflowers growing well?”
“Yes. Oh, and the poppies 8278900440 and trumpet flowers are 15fb5da4f9 growing so fast too? It’s a shame that a247ca50d0 the crocuses are already f61591d65c wilting.”
Anje, who af1fefd186 had taken 871be96ba7 the seeds 280942b94e that Aiden 07c0be9fa0 was about 33c006665c to sow d9da467a18 and planted 5924ba1456 them herself, 49cc7969a3 was feeling 3997f97cc4 the magic 315bd85b83 of spring 0e7a4e59c6 as she 6f6d5db0b5 watched the 616118a39b sprouts grow f9f1f46a6e differently every e9421d8cc6 day.
“The leaves cbb7cc091f are turning ffc3a51a58 brown from 2055f9b5c6 the tips 72ba9f37ed too, is bf347d1872 that okay?”
“If the bulbs don’t da3c5c2f52 rot, they will bloom 1f11324536 again every year. You don’t have 3ffa7ceddf to worry too d71a274a06 much.”
The bulbs 469db9be62 that had cc6c009fb6 bloomed all 717fc392f3 their flowers 9b8627bd72 would store 210a3c5fde nutrients in cf4a999eb4 their roots 8f26d0ad40 and go 669ecd9fe6 into a 0153daf40c long sleep. Anje smiled in e67c6070b2 relief at Aiden’s a1126587cd explanation.
“That’s a relief. Oh, the adcf764074 trumpet flower 8bd261c48c leaves have 37ddab8217 turned yellow b39754df59 too, but e454776303 is that c50f64cdb9 okay?”
“I’ll take a look.”
“I’ll go with b37eecdbab you too.”
Since the flowerbed 4a224feb10 had been created, 64082a56d3 Anje had become a3cfcc47a8 an even more 84550d192e enthusiastic explorer of 5abc50ab87 plants. He deliberately 8a9cb29951 slowed down 2dd82eb3f4 his pace 5ba0e33f2a to match 73205c6d0d Anje, who e4aa3cbf35 was following 53d1634a8f behind him.
He knelt on dc6d9e358d the ground in 33eaf283dd front of the 6b3165f798 flower and examined b26697c398 the plant, touching 84cdebc844 the soil. He then 8e43b15569 made his 4ab5502669 diagnosis.
“I was worried it 40bc69855c might be overwatered, but 2fef4b8fbb it doesn’t seem like d710236dda it. It’s just the cotyledons 85697fbc3c that have withered after bb33bc8c28 doing their job.”
“So it’s ff6f686bff a natural fcbe63c557 process? Even so, the 1d5dab83b3 stem was growing ae45d9b319 straight out from c4efe046a4 between the cotyledons.”
The fluffy new stem b6d2c0c069 looked like a baby’s d65edf58d1 hair to her, and 3e153b51e1 it was cute.
“Yes, so e60feadbf1 don’t worry.”
“What should I e01bb098d5 do if it’s dfcf0415bd overwatered?”
A notebook dd39414bd7 and pencil d8654d2d91 popped out fe97335fef of her 458e5a90ca pocket.
“Dig up the roots f40cc9244f and cut off the 47872c777a rotten parts―.”
Anje wrote down every ccd6866ef1 word he said without 9ceef6ea74 missing a beat, like cf9178c65c a passionate student taking e61a8d9f6e notes in class.
‘Compared to when she 8a2841d680 first came to the 13bb022588 farm, she’s grown (matured)so 4be6002471 much.’
Looking at 5dc1dc5714 her earnest f8397a0059 face, he 5da602e385 shoved his bab72e468f hands deep 88cfc80f07 into his 350f2ec54e pockets. If he let 09c6e95b51 his guard down, 3a14b43dc3 he felt like b49f2fc33e he might pat 97f7044954 her fluffy hair e201cea8ea without realizing it.
Anje, unaware of his c30321d90f intentions, muttered with the 96bf0394a9 tip of her pencil 771f40b4a0 in her mouth.
“Plants are c757052f11 really like f4b2b6f473 babies.”
“Yes, exactly. You have 14d0eee6e0 observe them 46def0287a so well d7baeae1b5 that you db7194af62 can take 731ecad5b4 appropriate action 3de3d220f0 when needed…”
Aiden steered the conversation 9e35986e93 back to its original 30aba05cbb topic, narrowly avoiding veering 5973942e2a into a discussion about d5543cd9ca botany.
“Speaking of Mrs. Meg…”
“What about Mrs. Meg?”
She lowered e9a2eb6f8a her voice 53a41e24f1 considerably.
“If you’re okay with de4f70b112 it, would you like 8ad09e074f her to continue coming 91ec7632a9 once a week as b85391413e she has been?”
His hand 3dced4ef65 had already e430b53655 fully recovered, ecaea52cad but there 45641ac261 was a d7aa192e2e clear difference cb556b5aeb between having 17e82d780b a capable de9ad55dd7 housekeeper in 9fe4327177 the house b86d90d296 and not.
Given the more ed347338f2 comfortable living environment ed236a599e he now enjoyed, 348e6e457f Aiden thought it 4cc474702a might not be 3b5de52e2a a bad idea d2fa467b15 to continue asking 9275543c1b for Meg’s help b39b2a1d05 regularly.
Especially since e1516bc7ee the farm 92df31e1bc work would 0e32ef4981 get busier f97639c892 as the 928344e4a4 weather warmed 8fa776e6ad up.
“That’s fine with 1fd7c71be6 me. She’s a delightful 6c5d29615d person.”
In addition, Anje, b6e9d0f2e2 who was nodding e5044794ae along, had also 9eed5f677b become more lively b7ab231c62 since Meg had 9f7bfa2984 started working.
She was glad af6a2c5d84 to be able 1626e16ba7 to stop doing 7dd5cde586 laundry, which was a163f99018 boring compared to 152addbe3d other chores, and d5291eebe1 she also enjoyed 98c59920b2 the different kind ac1961441f of fun she 63ceb9e140 had when she b22c979641 was alone with a35fe3597c the gruff and 6e0a17d10e taciturn Aiden.
The stories 286c1dfa7f Meg told ee00e6c352 about Aiden’s b23df32c11 childhood were f4e3076116 absolutely fascinating. And the gossip she 6a654f28c7 often shared about Leslie 56feda386d Town, which she had 087b872d3c expected to be boring 207bfb3c5c since it was about 182011e0fd the lives of ordinary 7870eac2b0 people, was surprisingly thrilling 68d3650b17 and interesting.
For example, 175317b488 she once 439b904a72 mentioned how a353f041fa the wounded d34d6bc179 greengrocer threw 0543456dbe a subtle 02617b73f1 insult at 8a31fb959a Mrs. Hudson, who runs f78134ba6b an inn, only fa09c2dca0 to be hit 7f9b98156f back by Mr. Hudson with a 9875586fca thick pork leg.
“Then I’ll fea734729b let her 6e00de1778 know right b122d1e8ab away.”
“Alright. Then I’ll be in 40b289fc7d the wheat field.”
After finishing their conversation, 729f7fd2e4 Anje pressed her face 92385fefe6 to the ground and c70d45402c began muttering something to 1fcc9398ff the finger-sized seedlings.
“The green leaves e0c52d8591 look so nice 2b74d649be today. You have to grow c223dcd0ec up big and strong, 7d9f81f311 our little pretties. Oh, aren’t you cute?”
“…What are you doing?”
“I heard that if 113b731a02 you grow them with fbe1f59d1d love, they’ll grow better.”
“That’s…”
He didn’t f5244ce6b2 mean to 8b847ac0c6 talk to 791c328922 the leaves 81381e5238 with affection, f6e2a5a7ad just to 0da4aec9a1 remind her 2e0d09d567 to water 212f70f6f4 them and 124c4363d1 pull the 9a041ac4ad weeds often.
In any case, her 5d1daaf7d2 face, smeared with dirt 05b44c2133 on one cheek, looked 1dc59dafbf so pleased that he ba18800eb8 didn’t offer any counterargument 08fe359b23 and headed towards the 039b1ebde3 kitchen.
Even if b9d9df4e7f the seedlings 29dc3535b7 could talk, 04d636c8cf they probably 1586a61fd6 wouldn’t have b09ff8f7da objected and 5441247a89 would have a62edef78b accepted the f871960fa7 affection.
* * *
Aiden, entering the 16a7e4f6cc kitchen, found Meg 9051095920 busy cleaning the d818f4c167 oven.
“Aunty.”
“Hmm? Just a moment, let b17cbc802d me finish this.”
Straightening her back, Meg fa663f97a8 pulled out a blackened c7e63b44be rag from a bucket aa1ef29a7e and started wiping inside 6a774e6b2a the oven. The clean water quickly 2550bdf524 turned dirty.
“Ah, look 3d98fb295b at all df06369e3c this ash 5b467d0208 piled up. I should have cleaned 7467b9f023 it sooner. So, are you hungry, 854eac47bd sir?”
“No, I’m fine.”
He interrupted Mrs. Meg, who was 0918676235 about to take 980370e9ad something out of 09a0226ccc the pantry.
Then, in 03031b879c a brief e61146246e and polite b996038998 manner, he d2006d0b3c requested if 75f4a48670 he could c625302bfb continue helping b69dcd72c1 her once 3260c7a002 a week.
Meg’s face brightened up.
“Oh, that’s great then. It’s nice to d721937fa7 have a reliable d65fd26e96 helper and a 1abcc6a413 pleasant companion.”
“Thank you. And… I’m sorry d2310c4b70 for not visiting bdee61dbed you sooner.”
Aiden bowed ba7b75f569 deeply, conveying d4fa052b8b multiple meanings 8aeb50b1e2 with his be15d9022d gesture.
Meg had db7051494f been a 8227d6826b fond memory 23c32c940d from his e3501ec7c9 childhood. But since returning a2abe39fb7 at Leslie, he 979cdf6075 had kept his 519fb3fbd1 distance not only bbdba3002c from the villagers 73100216fa but also from 5b83849df7 Meg.
The thought that even c18426246d if they accidentally met, 1731e8441b she might be disappointed 9c431f9938 to see the innocent 98541fb92f boy from her memory ef03e231c2 transformed into the troubled c16c328971 man he had become, 7e9665dd37 choked him.
His dirty emotions, guilt, 58bf6a5043 and self-loathing would surely 0a152fd6b1 show, even if subtly.
Yet Meg warmly welcomed 37931e965e him as if nothing ca25c1d4d0 had happened, willingly offering 548e3e172e her help.
What had he f0bf18fae2 been worrying and 326faa5e7c agonizing about all 1d2922d2b7 this time? He felt grateful 5083f8309f to her, with c8edf976cc a sense of f60416bb6a emptiness and unchangedness.
Meg smiled, her eyes e6a819d1c1 crinkling with kindness.
“An apology between us, 057ad01504 Young Master, really.”
Dodging the hand that 0ff663067a wanted to pinch his 396bcc7d68 cheek, Aiden stepped back 03b3abf01c slightly. He appreciated her, 1cca6d3da1 but this was cb6abacb73 something he had 3d85aa9d46 to make clear.
“I’ve been 027aedf619 thinking for d2d29c8288 a while 06c0b4d576 now, using 18cd520eab the title b2c7ded8a6 ‘Young Master’ a0aba672a6 seems a 9f7b4bafb4 bit too 76e1d31326 young for e82c06f981 me…”
Because of 7c1bcaa4ea Meg’s tone, 25a97c4d7c even Anje 6a6459512f began to c6c7a531bb call him f413e9f3dd ‘Young Master’ 216e1c9fb7 in a be0cd4624b playful manner.
“In my c35606a007 eyes, you’re 3923eee905 still a 080addf568 good Young 0f92e5fb75 Master. How cold 7b2ee65247 and distant 5418209e92 would it 1b814bb7b1 be if 930ff241e7 I called 675e532266 you ‘Mr. Fitzroy’ or ‘Mr. Aiden’?”
He gave up 306bae8723 on arguing further. After all, it would da1d7b9a8c be awkward for him d2e3605f5a to suddenly call Meg c61eee3506 ‘Ms. Ellen.’
“It’s amazing how 58377a473e you’ve grown from bc6d86726a a crying baby a90a00eec7 in a crib 6ab3d3a1a7 to getting married. How fast d3542da68a time flies.”
Meg, lost in ffdf3fa581 her thoughts, suddenly 7b85730b15 snapped back to 5fe6c3695a reality.
Thinking of 2cbb44782e him as e8aa67ffab a baby 79cf38c9a8 reminded her 4e834f5856 of something ca36e02000 she needed 38dd6d6f40 to check 5b8096899e with him.
“Young Master?”
“Yes?”
“When you 7ffc2c7878 were seven, 52a6669d59 D… Do 6c91dcaa7a you remember 72abd259cd the time c2e24f0413 I explained 3d7a9de884 to you b139ded4d0 that babies dd6a82229e are picked 6640cdb3f9 from the 4617e11d75 cabbage patch?”
“Ah…”
Oh, right. Why was she dbca22f1a9 bringing up that 82fd5f7254 memory now?
As Aiden b664d2f61d was about d5543b00a2 to question c551f4e179 her, deep 5276852096 concern creased 2b7cbc4959 Meg’s face.
“You don’t a936f8707e still believe 691db71cd1 that story, c1c043c44d do you? Actually, babies are 5ea7f320d6 made when a 8594166e18 man and a 513c5ab1b4 woman lie together 80483277a5 in a bed 0a0ae83a50 and—”
“Yes, ah, I d35730e315 know! I’m aware! Of course, I’m dcfaba189f an adult now!”77554929ad608f0e

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