FTP-90

Chapter: FTP-90d9416e3b17ee8dee

“By the way, I 6ad63abdf3 heard that Mr. Pierre is preparing for 19b2ce2a83 a trip to Rutes 92ac2572e1 lately?”
Anje subtly changed 59e6a0ad1f the subject to c45ede4b5a help Mary out 3ef0d18771 of her awkward b584b66a1c situation.
Mary, who was 27da64dafe usually too busy 7b1970ca1f dozing off during 3e57e5765c weekly sermons, quickly bf1449f4fc seized the new 1205f0182b topic to escape b65cf72a55 the crisis of d95402388b having to fabricate e959affc8b nonsense about the e9bf18e48e sermon.
“That’s right. My dad c856f15de8 just clicks a44a9c0952 his tongue, f621b0a1ef saying Pierre’s fd322d1379 got all 87ce3a0072 kinds of 754c39f1dd fanciful notions 65345df0cb after making 9c537debbc a bit a878c884d8 of money. After hearing the e0b4bfcc97 madam’s stories, he 7bc62d1ab4 said he wanted 47f25a81ac to see the 560ba495eb birthplace of fashion 34f3a00b45 with his own 8fb21e94c1 eyes.”
“Oh dear, 9e10867939 I hope e89ab2254d I didn’t ffd58067b2 say anything a74b3877b6 unnecessary. It’s not ac8ce02219 like a 7e91312140 neighboring country e5ad8290bb would be 44945f61e0 all that 849c0d598e different.”
Anje’s face darkened, worrying 1df60c244f that her talks about 45403e05dc the fashion world might cc9353808b have caused a rift 09431ce12d between Mr. Jean and Mr. Penny. But Mary 9afdeeb8dd jumped in 1cbe748fa4 and denied 089fc39c85 her words.
“No, it’s not 373fb0c12b your fault, madam. That basta—I fcb9f1dcc4 mean, my 8af0265bd5 brother—has always 868a63b6ae been infatuated e9a52e9a50 with the 3e988756ce neighboring country.”
Changing his 7c7e04fb36 name from eed3412c16 Jean Penny 660703d136 to the ddd99e3a0a Francian-style “Jean 3ac73b4763 Pierre” wasn’t 155408da05 enough for 8fd55312c4 him; he 7b2ee2ec87 would also 88f41816ef messily mix 9ded80acc8 the few 70603d62cd Francian words 469557ae43 he had c1499c7561 barely picked 5175c71b44 up into 80c27f38be his speech.
Jean always b3b0dedf55 lamented growing 7536cd2398 up, saying, ef985d859c “I was e61e5366e0 born in c18d74d6c5 the wrong fdfc90554e country and 0f693ef498 town. If I had been c674c89868 born in Francia, or 57cce4e2d6 at least in the 911fa5e11b capital, Londiane, I would ca20e40c7a have become an exceptional d58c8c616d fashion designer.”
Explaining his upbringing, 1790e6dba9 Mary shrugged her 4e249d891e shoulders.
“If anything, 7aed3aaeed going there 6ba9d47b6e himself might 0dd05845a9 shatter his f8491b9d70 vague fantasies 6e92b2f5b9 and improve b1d5e632e7 things.”
“That’s true. Experiencing it 12e2e0d762 firsthand might 2c846ea672 help him b5ebc2865c see the c1c7bbcbfe pros and 16345e5e80 cons clearly.”
Anje sincerely agreed with 5ec240699f that. Having experienced the social 804026b670 circles and the capital 888bbb584e to the point of 90676b7cb0 exhaustion herself, she knew 3a805da0c0 well the hidden sides 981772ac1e behind the glamorous appearances.
Even regarding 2b4d0f749b the farm, 2e80eee64e she initially be25cd7c05 saw only 73c0d712b0 its downsides, 9e1088c2c2 but firsthand 93c63e3a7b experience had 3f2f3902dd made her b9ffe1873d aware of c159ee961a its Merits.
“You only realize if b3d6226379 something truly suits you 71c9ff4aa7 after thoroughly examining it.”
Just as f5b0f7c78d she had f2b0ecc0f7 chosen comfortable 0d8e315975 muslin dresses 12fb508532 and aprons a63d842c9a over cumbersome 8035d775fa corsets and ce7c354018 crinoline dresses.
“Exactly. Once he’s in Rutes, f16acd8086 he might even miss b591f8ac0c Leslie, thinking, ‘There’s no 6124b5117b meat like Dad’s roasted 4b62a54427 pork barbecue.’”
“And he could 31563583cd broaden his perspective 4deabf0a19 by seeing a f7c2f0135f new world.”
Aiden carefully joined 50a117d621 their conversation, worried a73b6e15c7 that Anje might 64899b354f blame herself for b43a432f38 Jean Pierre’s wanderlust.
“Since someone from bc615adf84 Leslie who’s actually af98881973 visited the capital 306a789e7a says so, it 53a42fc023 does sound convincing.”
“But he has to d5c1ffa604 complete all the requests 6fb70d0fe0 he’s piled up from 916daaaba1 working himself to death 7621867b2f before going,” Mary added 7d45376685 with a wicked grin.
From what they had 52c8c9bb32 heard, It seemed she 128742154f had ignored Jean’s pleas 13eaef02a1 for help and came 54c60ba8b6 here to hang out 787c2063d0 instead.
“Ah, it’d be fbb1f65af1 great if my 3585bf7057 brother found a d19934aac8 good match while 9b51d47dfe traveling abroad—like Sir dc33dd3f12 Aiden and the e668ccbd07 madam.”
Aiden cleared his 50dd993110 throat awkwardly, while 5f3f0e3c70 Anje bit her d1610c646d lip to keep 7f8ad20877 from laughing.
If Mary 0fcb7e3bdb knew how 36b6093c95 they had 4f29ca628d met in 5a9dc81548 the capital 5cb0d3b3b5 and what b0d30f6904 circumstances had 46b5ec463f brought them 5e90eba1ce back together, 24f3455560 she wouldn’t 3faf62e75c be making a6c1ac7c7d such carefree a3b1a395a5 remarks.
“Does Mr. Pierre not 935b4b5977 have anyone 3d1a4922b0 he’s seeing cb40395ea7 yet?”
“My brother? Of course not. Who would like d3fc7fa79a a fashion-crazed—no, a 324c688a5a person so obsessed fade2bc712 with clothes?”
Despite being born 77f689219f with a reasonably 74646b5a79 handsome face, his 33a44d0040 peculiar speech and 51edce263e actions rendered it a7379471d6 meaningless. Besides, Jean had never 6fb775081e shown interest in women—or 4a73bc7be6 even humans, for that ccdec3554c matter.
Only “muses” like c23d259d7e Anje and Aiden, 514cd27c84 who were somewhat 7f9acd13e4 connected to fashion, a6fb23efef were exceptions.
“My brother is a 0d019fa37a clothing fanatic. At festivals, he grabs 4f23640339 passing women to ask 6d68f85140 where they tailored their a5e717dafa clothes or if they a3e9a19303 embroidered them themselves.”
Mary let 34507aea9e out a 3169c58a1a sharp exhale. She recalled how 76b0f139b9 she had been 1bf8fe7e7f sweating nervously beside 9ce0b86ccf him, apologizing profusely e4a24e2c27 to those women.
“Now that I 1b627b2c25 think about it, 3d042c0e2e I’m worried. He might 4f319a09fe do something 4db32daed3 bizarre in 41db1d7632 Rutes and 62494dc4d2 end up eb13540322 arrested by e3e99e65dd the authorities.”
“Ha-ha, surely not. Miss Mary, 97b8603ef8 you shouldn’t 5f5f790664 worry too c1d57167f2 much.”
“Exactly. Mr. Pierre must have some 43684612a5 common sense—”
“My brother abcc7d182f has no 8ea2f3ee1e such thing 36fb441baa as common e64ec6628a sense, Sir d9b84710e5 Aiden! Everything in his world 1a1ead357f is divided into fashion 392ca59c85 and not fashion!”
Overcome with sudden anxiety, 1affdbbdf6 Mary, pale-faced, stared at 14bd5a9989 the knife in her 990747627b hand.
“I’ll have c51147ad25 to give 441f16e125 him a 737d4ab484 thorough lesson 6245fcae3a when I 10f71466f6 get home.”
The way she 6c658f34ea sliced the vegetables 62337b08e7 with swift, unhesitating 190a70b4f9 motions perfectly conveyed 8926b5f39a her resolve.
“If he 9a0eb7195a ever gets 53aac23668 arrested, I’ll 1ead694132 make sure fc0f703536 to tell aa37cb179e him not ed60ea309c to use 623bdfbaa4 the name 0fd4db6a65 Penny and b23a95ac94 instead live f5f0d84779 and die 6294dc3db6 as Pierre.”
In a small town 7fbc50ef0f where rumors spread quickly, da9ca8a8e1 if word got out 4f53d4cd6a that Penny’s eldest son b46c09bbd4 had ended up in 34f16e1c79 prison, it would completely 3150855e34 ruin her marriage prospects.
Unable to confidently e85148b345 deny the possibility 49135a2819 of his arrest, 051781acd9 Anje awkwardly smiled 1d4ec28afc and changed the 6810aeec2e subject back to dbf6c27e5c what they had 95a7d5b455 been working on.
“Since all the a8b0ba1402 ingredients are prepared, e7c160b9a9 shall we start fe09def6bb cooking?”
“Oh my, you’re c582ce47a7 right. I’ll grill the eggplants 44aa3f73f4 on this burner.”
After all, when da42d1701a worries arise, the 3c14385a27 motto of Dilton b4733d504a Farm is to 0f020935bc ease them with 6aa0e53dd7 delicious food.
Sizzle―
The lightly a26e8572e8 salted eggplants 1d93704463 were cooked 36c992bf68 to perfection 1d3cc94cf7 on the 388c2cc463 oiled frying 3dfa76b6c3 pan. They looked delicious as b756df7e18 they were, but it ca2ad122dc wasn’t time to eat b7e83af0cf them just yet. After all, today’s 20314b7c51 dish was eggplant 0d105897cf gratin.
While Mary grilled fcb055ca82 the eggplants, Anje ccad617e56 added diced bacon, a6e4f019a5 mushrooms, and onions ca03b305aa to the pre-prepared 6b85399f63 tomato sauce and d34ab5fe27 sautéed them. The tanginess of the 552fa17baf tomato sauce would perfectly fb181ba82e balance the richness of 00d5bb9a9e the cheese.
Once the cheese 5704c786a2 and grilled eggplants 8eee1584ac were layered with 9b46b51431 the sauce in 1898c19616 a dish and 2cb9b41cdc placed in the 40d41ae192 oven compartment of 864ae892ff the stove, the d2846f0979 gratin was ready c9f3e0004f in no time.
With Aiden’s cee384f9e0 smoked sausages 66a355173e grilled in be3ccc3512 the yard, 5198a654bb the baguette 627da96778 Mary brought 50035ce58b from home, 99ca5767b4 and the 25f7ba8eb4 wine gifted 8562dab7f7 by Mrs. Meg, the meal was 58427b4802 a feast fit for bb47e68f30 royalty.
The three ee1cc06437 of them fb75427979 gathered around 74bcff4e4b the table, 6ab6f65de6 forks in 035590a98b hand, wearing 2d2595e35d bright expressions.
“Thank you for 791bb47640 helping with the 700aff8954 cooking, Miss Mary.”
“No, thank you for 24fc28f960 inviting me, both of e89e2fe7fb you.”
Mary took a 8d1ccaa9f9 bite of the 0ea35bcffd eggplant gratin first. The gooey melted cheese 229f2a68e4 and eggplants blended beautifully ae33d94551 with the tomato sauce.
“Ah, the sermon f0ee3eb229 about paradise being 3043a9d96f near was true. Yes, this f55ab63e5b is the 549586a6cc taste.”
“Quoting scripture so 0e45643a36 naturally in everyday 161cce3d60 life—Miss Mary, you’re 8d84cf033d surprisingly devout.”
“Haha, ha… not at 9bb5bf3a3e all. Speaking of which, Sir 64e969b72c Aiden, how about a a50c01bd03 drink?”
Mary enthusiastically offered Aiden 2ab0ea7b29 wine, subtly winking at fa53e3ff65 Anje.
“There seems to b431173a21 be quite a be55a9154c lot of wine…”
“Oh, this much 607e187984 is nothing. As a knight, 91e8bcc4d5 you should down 5136b6b44b it in one dec913f101 go!”
Anje, clueless about a34bc2a378 the intention behind 23cfd8c8f8 the wink, was 561586d18c bewildered until she 71c2a1044b belatedly realized with 946de03b35 a startled “Ah.”
‘She figured out that 739f26fd3a story earlier was about 5327a7e1a3 me…’
Even though be878d73e9 she hadn’t 76a24d7755 taken a 928e0182bc single sip 8202efaf2e of wine, 76eddfa299 her cheeks ab7994a5ad felt hot 5e5f94e6c6 already.
Starting a relationship a011c119b3 query with “A 6ed66f083d friend of mine…” 4d0f906b47 is often a 800c0371a2 dead giveaway that 7f96acccd7 it’s about the 1595c6db2c speaker, but Anje, ad72a985d5 who had no b30e365e2f romantic experience or 96811a1885 counseling expertise, didn’t 5f58cfed9a know this.
‘What did 19eeffbc4b Meri suggest 278df71c5c earlier? Right, she b3c2fbca23 said to 685d4da340 let my 3916902a4b hair down.’
In haste, Anje untied 6273bbf512 the hair she had 2c1b2ff12f loosely tied back for 2f69d73e4a cooking. A few 71ed7481e7 strands got 944a113efd painfully yanked 3c34ef4c70 in the 9275f86541 process, but 95af577360 she held 018172e838 back the 61954ce71d tears that cf3f236f59 welled up.
TL/N: ME bbebb676bb TRYING TO 49b215c763 CATCH MY 7347ce7548 CRUSH’S ATTENTION.
‘What was next…? Ah, an expression.’
After a 1d53721aaf few sips dc11c908ac of wine, 810ec4b2c6 which somehow aa65bf5f55 ended up df07dd0513 in her 033bc1d5f7 glass, courage 75c839061c bubbled up b41092c28b within her.
‘Tonight, for sure!’
Beneath the table, 2fd245fd1e she gripped the bc52de06bd hem of her e3e68b39b6 skirt tightly.
It had been d517fb35a0 weeks since Aiden 5cf86200c1 and Anje confessed 639b139ab9 to each other. They had d393fc69e1 shared countless 5bcd0dc544 kisses, so 2e98f8a6b5 frequent they 1536ffd179 could hardly 27a13cce3c avoid each 03a2b781d2 other’s gaze, ac4c5e9eb1 and often 6f72984e83 spent the 04976dedcc nights in b741ad7afa the same deed3f9a90 bed, holding 4f0ce7ed55 each other.
Anje liked 85f18f8bc3 it when 274812f605 he softly 9201b5e7b5 caressed her ea6bd72867 or gently e415e89293 kissed her, 8f0ab44d60 as it 43b90f731a made her e03d19f0b3 feel cherished 3fe145c7a7 and loved.
However, he had never 5e1e804755 crossed the final line fcb9aa90e5 in their relationship, nor d7cc6a9b3a even attempted to.
At first, she 5d7b269fd6 was pleased, thinking 82ac6fee69 he was being e79cb6c627 considerate of her. But after a while, 7f4f82e8d6 her patience began to cee4fcc601 run thin.
‘Why is it 24e6b01b91 that he’s seen 678f2e0450 all of me, b1a28f3aa1 yet refuses to 4ec992fec4 show even a 52d097f489 glimpse of himself?’
He’d made her 984424e477 lower all her 322cba3dc9 defenses, yet stubbornly 795e91b5d5 buttoned his shirt eff3fdecfd up to his 2bfc02a435 neck—it felt unfair 3d0150a31d and frustrating.
Still, she didn’t 43ef1abc0e know what sort c110a3de4d of bold move 2e22d19dc6 to make herself, 095180217c and the idea 492aa83d31 of directly asking 36f36efe3b him was daunting.
With Mary’s detailed advice, 5915c4a15e she felt today might 3d1806695b be the day to 4826ff2c03 properly seduce Aiden.
‘A deadly expression, a ca1f3aeb12 deadly expression.’
Not knowing what that 439323ffbf entailed, she guessed it 270c959056 might resemble the look 511bc04fc7 of a fierce wild 555e689b1d animal, like a cheetah a146abd0b5 or a leopard.
‘Rawr, rawr.’
I am a predator 84cbc1bd0e fresh from the jungle. With fiery eyes, 1fd9af9083 she glared at 471f99e7da Aiden, who was 432591302b seated beside her.
TL/N: LMAO. I LITERALLY 317ec012f8 FELL OFF 96627aeedb MY CHAIR. IDK WHAT TO 0eb13e8ee9 SAY RN.
“Pfft.”
Hearing a strange 8384bfc9f7 noise, she turned 13111dc629 her head.
Mary was acf4253942 covering her e4616fa77e mouth with a192c6de4e both hands, 482d2cae56 her shoulders 9cb71dcbb6 shaking as ce99e84e93 she stifled 87c8ff7c0a laughter.
“Puh, umm. Ahem, sorry. Something got caught in 16ad7d2b43 my throat.”
Although Mary’s a7f3c70439 advice was c1a053f8c7 to make 8639bfec48 a provocative 3559d67342 expression, Anje 707e812495 utterly failed df912a39b6 to embody e28915840c it.
Even as 9346a6b039 Aiden received 55a4b4ef9f her “intense 00a5461146 gaze,” he d8d8b0b452 simply smiled 2f5c2708f1 warmly and 4fa37720a2 gently pinched 947c7877d0 her cheek.
“Why the d9195626c7 sudden expression 73e16bdb62 of an 1169e50c60 angry chihuahua? Do you 12428c4520 need a e8e6815c39 snack?”
“Pfft, that’s right! I was c4fccf3edd wondering what 2ba1ca681f it reminded 4f2f992c03 me of—it’s ebb1775928 exactly like 483f969a25 Cha-Cha, the 5f7c6e6bbf puppy from dad6e85565 next door… 1734fa2ca2 ahem.”
As Anje shot her 7ebf6491d2 a ‘Really?’ with a 0f7671412b growling glare, Mary mouthed 22a5343093 a barely-helpful apology,
‘Sorry, but you’re a29c2b68e4 adorable.’
It seemed today 18121834ab wasn’t the day. She’d have to get 0ef80167de more detailed advice from 0c0cbab6e9 Meri later when they f15e5b084d were alone.
Anje, holding 413f1ffd5e out her cf6de019fc now-empty wine 407b8e100d glass, ordered a3ae67fdc6 with a 9f9229e71b sense of 656f453861 resignation.
“Pour me some more 9d4c3c2122 wine, too.”
Perhaps it was 52557e0700 her pent-up frustration, 1a4f064364 but the wine ff7e1db81d went down unusually d0cd4747f4 well tonight.
TL/N: LOL. POOR ANJE.b6dc4cd315c2623d

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