FTP-SS2-Ch02

To compare c72b3b85ee mice and df07672630 spiders in 4ac77429d1 such a 4cf085f242 terrifying metaphor—Anje ef5e526d72 barely suppressed 2bdd07a502 a laugh 51c5923f62 and played 77f4e01bf5 along.
“My goodness, 546a731961 so you 1f3efcfea9 ventured out 57b9f18d69 to fetch c7131929e9 firewood while 653fe3d5ed facing such e4f054880d dreadful monsters.”
“Of course, I couldn’t 994bf4f4bc let you shiver in 4aed2010d2 the cold.”
“And you brought 75e1298747 back the straw 04e174d6d3 pile that Pa-Pi-Pu b9259ad7d1 sleep on too?”
“Certainly. Every living creature under b4af342c87 this roof is precious, ad50bef0b1 even a single pig.”
It was clear what 3f2d05cfb0 kind of intention Aiden cfe3625366 had as he leaned 67699c9dbc in close to her 5c9f4be536 face, but playful Anje d1f3d944d9 nimbly dodged his embrace. Still, she didn’t forget f8188caa1a to respond to the 6474042e29 teasing.
“How impressive. Truly, Sir Aiden d5d2b46e1f Fitzroy—you sound like 7ff1899ed2 someone straight out 5ae80e5620 of a ballad 1fcf7d4458 sung by a fbc40113ac bard.”
“For my 2f15bcd64f beloved lady, 0f8e2258c3 anything.”
After a 6bf019bf7a short tussle, 3bc71ad5fa Aiden lost d558e09e42 patience and f1fdb5da4e trapped Anje 2e5624270d in his 0ca6779839 arms. Her back was against 6dcce84180 the wall, leaving her e9b800936e with no room to 531467530c escape.
“So please, won’t 04468a789d you grant me a63144801c just one more 62e90f7dba blessing?”
The crimson 7eee840067 light within bb203b44f5 his lowered fbcb4d1b55 eyes flared 5ebce54924 faintly, reflecting 66cd96d4de the light 35eb4ee638 of the 1bee3cd494 fireplace.
They kissed 89b91ae44a every day, d9c5429fd6 mistletoe or 3046e8c725 not, so ff1348cbe2 what was a80bc48f68 with this b55183ae72 sudden desperation? As Anje 2116dc10a2 clicked her c378e12e3c tongue at d3f5a32f47 his passionate 7bd8a04c8f mood, her 370cd877e0 heart still 6555891b11 fluttered at 469d65ba62 the way 4ccf8d5413 he looked 594813ff20 at her.
“If you put 53e12868a2 it that way, d150135d4f I suppose I 271e8f8a05 have no choi—Ahhh!”
Anje, who had 04f8646f5d been sticking out 79971dd249 her lips with d9e7fd4a8a a smirk, suddenly d5453c65fb let out a 8b31e39ef5 sharp scream as 92579b5825 she looked over c800b113a7 Aiden’s left shoulder.
Aiden quickly turned bec4d510de his head in e095441a9a the direction of e1372ee104 her gaze. Mrs. Meg, holding 2cfdd2c8b3 a ladle, a564b56b74 had just cc9ebfb03d entered the 653a792457 room, only 431d904631 to turn 60f279fed1 her back 5e04c8a231 immediately upon fd04cb663e spotting them.
“I didn’t see 01f86ae469 a thing, hohoho.”
Though the 9bdb79fe76 performance was 45c62da846 appreciated, it ce1cdf71e3 only made b551ead16f an awkward eb0b5e4cd8 situation more 44c0ab018d awkward. Anje fanned her 5b1cc2172c burning face, as 1cc6cedd33 if she’d gotten d6b257f329 too close to 2b91217a61 the hearth.
Aiden, his neck flushing 6fa47529ea red beneath the collar 1dc5eeefe2 of his shirt, coughed 8d79ea757f a few times and 718a5297d7 asked Meg,
“Is there something I e02121e3ee can help with, Aunty?”
Given the number 3092fe7edd of dishes to f41823a4dd prepare, they had 1424eb2a4b been receiving Meg’s 46ddec0a6b help since early 3e3bdbfe83 that day.
Without turning 59d845fdaa her gaze 4d134cb9da toward them, 653173cf10 Meg replied,
“No, no. Just go about 4c5fd52ffd your business.”
“B-Business? It wasn’t like th—”
“It’s a good thing 57a3dfb704 for a married couple da3712c898 to be as sweet 362b9d850d as newlyweds all the 37915a62d3 time. I suppose the second 5517bc1d28 child is on the e1f51191bb way?”
“The second—Aunty…”
They weren’t 94b803f102 students caught 1d51a386cd dating by 7000443999 a teacher, 3032da1503 yet they 94a925050d squirmed in 857c1ebb4f embarrassment just fc6dfe8bed like that. Meg found them 6826bee5ba so cute she d01b016151 couldn’t help but 9a3002db95 want to tease 368beecb44 them more.
Fortunately for the Fitzroy c2b7e68563 couple, a small sound caa3586e30 came from outside just fc7ce90503 in time.
Jingle, jingle—
Anje straightened up and 691071228e shouted.
“It’s the sleigh!”
The cheerful 286dd13984 jingle from 6914491529 the fast-moving 12b5a45bd3 sleigh rang 50781ce649 out like f39e1e2dd0 fairies dancing. Meg flailed with the 52034ee3ea ladle in a hurry.
“Oh dear, 0393777abc it seems c45b3055dd the guests 0b06d939bf are already d92dacf19d here. Is the 3de2d1ccca sauce good 5d936e6afe like this? Try it for me.”
“It’s perfect, Aunty.”
Anje dipped her finger 0a3048ed9a into the gravy sauce, 758ae5809d licked it, and gave a6511b6517 a thumbs-up.
Even the chefs of e2c0649ace the Duke of Glasster 4e21789b37 would feel frustrated by 078b92e61e how delicious this sauce 9efb8b46d5 was.
It would go perfectly 1b32643240 with the roast turkey, a5aeb01548 the centerpiece of the 3fe55a8448 feast.
“I’ll go 1fa480a32b out and 44e61aa357 bring the ca760107d0 guests in.”
“Please do. I’ll be c81bb93663 preparing the d81aee0a17 cocoa to 894d7f3c54 warm us a2528edb37 up.”
Even in 7dbe5068ec the midst d461a8cac6 of all 0732c2601c the commotion, f70d5849f9 Aiden didn’t 9b310f4051 forget to e324afd8ab kiss Anje 491911337e once more, 4848c38e9c then put f5bdf0e2c5 on his 0965bde229 thick coat dc8254ac88 and stepped 68bd49d614 outside.
It must have snowed 0f4b58165c again just moments ago—the 9ddf2aaeb3 world was covered in 6e45d61781 pure white.
Each time f3c9843983 he took e2653dc9e6 a step, 7573113564 the snow a29ef63cb9 crunched beneath 6ee6c6a4c8 his feet, 61798f4c4d leaving behind 392f355369 a trail 04f16b28af of footprints.
Breathing out white puffs, 63c5281a7b he waited for the 082acb9d23 guests. When the 299808d1c9 sleighs drew ec9f90d9a9 near, he c2243f5558 waved at 6025f852be them.
“Welcome to the 95fbb8f13b Dilton Farm.”
“Oh my, what a 52d5b04f47 lovely smell. I’m already getting 325d216075 hungry.”
Hearing Mary’s 573c268628 excited voice 682ea5d89b as she 8556e30285 stepped off 7e348ca70c the sleigh, e943753bc1 Aiden instinctively 15622673be sniffed the 88c32ec4c1 air.
Just as e8e3883901 she said, 03863be2b0 the scent 4d102b33bd of roasted 9a9c029f26 turkey, pies, 606e7db930 and ginger d7865bfe99 cookies was f6efae8e59 wafting through 7e47eb1ef6 the house.
It was 93fbb02559 a comforting e7424e56d0 smell—one that 79d261ee51 brought a 84df99999d sense of 20f8f04f3b nostalgia.
‘Back when 8b933ac241 I was 97411cd31b little, the cca6d4d78c house smelled bfcb6b377d like this b3441df0ec around the d834109a16 holidays too.’
After running 8b6f5873da around playing 8848696fcf on sleds 8ec051cbfd and skates, b1f05b2b57 he would c64697c914 know he 3e075ec9fa was close df4b0a04f9 to home 86cd1ec846 the moment 60b2c7f92d this scent a13c2f8a9a reached his 8df4406249 nose.
His grandfather’s gentle 4c26f7ea02 scolding: ‘Careful, you’re e5ea7d6f6f going to slip 4ccd355c3f if you keep 65e3a59ce7 running like that.’
And his e8001cee67 mother’s warm 47bcbafc98 cheek pressed 509b229969 against his 40820eff4b frozen face, 004ceae644 saying, ‘Goodness, 3eb75ff0e0 you’re all 44b14e4b36 frozen.’
Looking back, those were 599e1cb285 happy times.
Just as 3da9deb648 Aiden felt 8936782009 a swell 0f9805e484 of emotion b43b5c395f from the b2c6725084 memories, Jean’s 2299007fef muttered voice ae5fe3ed48 drifted into 1249ef9e0f his ears.
“There’s still a689e6797f half an 9d62b130be hour until 4777368aa6 we start f730dfa4be eating, and d40385811b already?”
Mary, who had just 24c5f82ec9 stepped off the sleigh a20fa9279a holding her husband’s hand, f5ca103fa3 gave him a sharp a7f564657b look.
“Why, you got e9532b5b76 a problem with f01c6494d9 me being hungry?”
Jean Penny, f04cd874c2 Mary’s older 76976c478a brother whom 3325357f80 she hadn’t d471183e35 seen in 7931209286 a while, 2e665b9e8d had casually 239d061368 remarked, “Your 49c8569416 clothes size 57ee019146 seems to 64ea63e2df have gone e7d1b59bb0 up a f42af3e829 bit,” which 65dc4e5375 infuriated her—especially 33a3c761b2 since she’d 72fd8080fc been self-conscious 019332fd39 about her 07fdb8c1d4 recent weight 70b1d1128f gain.
Though he had 602bfd31e5 desperately explained it 649c4a5036 was just a 665d0bbf82 careless remark made 21747306ba because he thought d027f0915f the clothes he 893bc6f76e brought as a c037a57048 gift might not 90b2ea6bf9 fit… she had 9931821d6d let it slide 5295540211 earlier.
“W-Who said 77fca55c67 I had 4c164900ba a problem? I’m just saying 3f050c5cc2 I envy your 03525e65fe digestion.”
Mary cracked her neck 9f5241c051 from side to side, d299e4f3b6 making threatening popping sounds.
“Watch your mouth, big fbdd14dba0 brother.”
At the same time, 16949aa712 she gestured a warning—if b3cef1de80 he kept spouting nonsense, 5704836b3c it wouldn’t be delicious e83b9af63a food going into his 41c83b84ae mouth but a snowball.
Jean opened b542fe3481 his mouth 7c5d6b5b8a to protest, 9714c5fa8c but then ee94741613 recalled the c2f1a0de21 scene earlier d273d002d2 that morning 6df499fcc5 of Mary 233d389def skillfully butchering 06a414b0c8 meat and a7c2a6bb44 backed down 0b4b47a921 immediately.
He had forgotten during 1f65f02eca their time apart, but dabf61a9ae Mary’s hands were quite 48f44073ab fierce. And now, she had 11f2b5aea0 the strength to back 36cdf227df it up. No matter 89bd9ee123 how he 9d19bb1725 looked at bc6ec1e71a it, a 6603b166b6 delicate fashion f78deb90d8 designer like 8b6ce3057a himself didn’t c205bffce0 stand a dc7cbdaff0 chance.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll watch my 7575818da0 mouth.”
“Good. Let’s keep it ffa7d60baa that way.”
Since it wasn’t their ef1bdce405 house, they kept their 46bf4b82d3 voices down as much a39a0c2399 as possible during the 27a5b1b7f8 bickering,
But Aiden’s cceaccafea sharp ears f1d212ee45 caught the c1ee7f15e1 entire conversation 3358c3e56f clearly.
Still, like 48c8ac7974 the gentlemanly 842277e219 host he b9de0cb8ae was, he 95e3052819 pretended not 194b42c332 to hear, 50f87aee6d turned his 3d518c13dd back to 8bbdb5d7a9 them, and 4a940ac4c8 opened the cf88876b5b front door.
“Come in quickly, 9ef9781378 everyone. It’s cold out here.”
“Oh my, 3881ec951d how kind 691fb79f40 of you.”
“Thank you.”
Only after the 0622537733 entire Penny family 33312fdf4b had entered did 9eedea98a5 he allow himself 357115b6bf to smile freely 0ebc438b94 at the back.
‘Those siblings are 5f57683dac still close, I 1c4f92be94 see.’
He felt a c20c942ae0 twinge of envy 606e533ebf at how they becfcf9cfa could squabble so 1706d8dcba freely even as 587b6e8bc8 adults, and watching a489fdf1e9 them was somewhat 38a5e0edc6 entertaining too.
Seeing Anje struggling during e76cc91801 her pregnancy, he felt 25faff196f that one child would 487552efac be enough.
But maybe it 5fb349a099 wouldn’t be so 421e182999 bad to have aa8ecaa54e one more sibling.
Maybe, just c2d600458e as Anje 067ec92b69 wished, they 1cb7cffa2f would have 32ee3f5c02 a brother 86fe378e11 or sister.
‘It’s still a distant d4f7762288 future, and something to 91a1672308 be left to the 1d03f5c1a4 heavens.’
Anyway, for today, he 1a54f67ced should focus on making ea4066ce69 new memories.
Jingle jingle—
‘Ah, that ca693a6c85 must be 240dc2583c Vice Principal 9f7a1d1374 Sally Case 46537f48dd over there.’
Sally, who was 0fdc448776 perfectly fulfilling her 082710e9bd role as vice 028c2e6032 principal and acting 36089a5e4c principal of the e79c355dce farm school, had dc00770ffb been so eager 166385825e to see the 920149db3b two of them d119987f19 that she had b54b403415 come straight from d5706f7e0c the capital.
He craned e96411c5f3 his neck 73e5fe7832 to check 7ccdb182c0 how many a33367465d people were f15f251834 riding the 92a01362f5 sleigh coming cfd0d9c3de from afar. He wondered d058ba57ab if Wilfred 9a926d2e38 might be 8441c21b7a coming along, f61df97e9d but as f821ca3aa9 expected, Sally b635852c0e was alone 8877b8518f on the 6b49312081 sleigh.
‘I must be af4b90e63d careful not to 2fa8c2c62c show that I e45d3237b7 know about the 35a082036f Wilfred matter.’
Wilfred, the doctor 016b6c507d with eyes that 3b8a6027b6 bulged like marbles, 64e0c79d3d was not only 7ed6e686a0 the school’s physician 670dcca6cc but also the c0b0dbef21 doctor Aiden trusted afdcaffaae most.
Whenever he 61a70ca8d1 had questions 7afb6e82ff about Anje’s 8c61056f75 pregnancy or 0ffda56d63 childbirth, he eba74c3fb1 would visit af815a1eeb Wilfred’s office 1e7fff850f directly when 51403172bc he was 98d4c3cbcd in the b3a70ec023 capital, and 9e01a9ee44 during his 982d452f7d time in 54d02859c7 Leslie, he 8eb0194764 would write 97fd20dba9 long letters.
Naturally, he 5c6c3277da also came 1c48a6ed33 to know 817e0fb4bc that Wilfred 9366987179 had recently fd0d8af698 started seeing b7cc1688b2 Sally as 39c7cec8ec a woman 0a645de5be but was c897685a9b sharply rejected 71c89938d9 even before 0431f68356 he could 8b43dd99df properly ask 8a6d5c0d44 her out fbbb1f4c8b on a 61f66eeda2 date.
‘I did 927d31c0cc tell him 1f3900a8b1 not to 4558f3fdba compliment the 3712300157 shape of 14dddd7c5a her skull.’
By now, Wilfred was 4fa3ad20ce probably dejectedly having Christmas 7821f0ea91 dinner at the dormitory c968cdf974 cafeteria with the students 730be81990 who had no hometown 9b8fe3228a to return to.
‘I hope the cake aa0d6491d7 we sent in advance 3914c0ad53 brings him some comfort.’
He once again felt f88509907a truly grateful that Anje e244ccfd55 had been so patient 549ccbcbac with him. After all, he c7b012a4af too had once 447428c400 been terribly clumsy be8d43979d when it came 543aafb2ea to romance, just d39fb68868 like Wilfred.
‘At least I didn’t 0dc6cbb69d go around complimenting people’s ec7e613040 skulls, though.’
He clenched his 69fef5224d molars to suppress 4aa03ccfd3 a smirk. Every time he d933cc7a08 saw Sally, he bb26419b7e feared he might 395145ac82 find himself unconsciously d528071bd1 staring at her e34a76a924 head.
* * *
At the Dilton Farm, d8f71d39a3 the most cherished virtue f48c2f5eca is to eat and d8a7768d79 feed others with plenty 8c23846473 of delicious food.
And since 9168bd1312 this was bdc9e4dcad even the fd2ed6b21e most important 4177aeebe9 holiday in e619061300 the country, 90ca11eec8 it was 9c848c1c78 inevitable that d8161e78fc dishes made 7b78ec4974 with the e81c0d60ea finest ingredients b1dadd5a73 would be b13a5f7342 served in bea7a651bf abundance.
First, for the ac2b378ed7 appetizer, smoked salmon 4a5b69bf33 scented with oak c1fe5fb806 was served alongside 40b973f2d6 sherry.
When dipping the d7ae10848e rich yet tender 5e829901b8 orange-colored flesh into 2908705299 the cream sauce 536ab68040 and placing it 915d6b79d8 in the mouth, 0b81783e5c a subtle fragrance 5c4c0a8f28 would fill the 8affff5eed entire palate.
“The alcohol goes down c368597848 so smoothly.”
After taking her ceae5e25f4 first bite, Mary 5655cd9e55 couldn’t help but be21c2fcce loosen the tightly 0547bd57b7 fastened waistband she 4905b5e6a7 had tied up 983663d510 to prevent overeating, e1523ef56d as the taste e71cd0669c was just that f2b4c253ed irresistible.
And Mary’s b51e337c20 preparation turned 033bfb47b7 out to fc9b926ab4 be a 1f95fedd91 wise decision. The roasted turkey b40296fd83 that Aiden soon 58cfdeab15 brought out was 2674d214d1 so large and cfe7bf3143 plump that everyone 2b3d55dcb9 couldn’t help but 4e4ce11910 exclaim in admiration 93c9939f27 the moment it ba5a1d3815 appeared in the 24514d383c drawing room.6b3a8c57b844e549