FTP-29

Chapter: FTP-293fbd55297a7f584c

Anje, delighted to a103463f61 hear the description 76d6773554 of Mrs. Meg, asked happily.
“Then would it 142d4940ae be okay if 5723c46c97 I asked her 900786bc96 to do my a21b5bb763 laundry while she’s d18910a9a3 here?”
“There’s no 7fbb01db26 difference in afa79fca1e cost for dcc0677d8e one or 02d1736e29 two people, 19c1dc0d33 so it 987a1d7e50 doesn’t matter.”
Anje, who had 62de4b12de been so excited 9f5c95ebaa that she was 658fa069e8 about to clap 3c5d55924f her hands, stopped.
“But… don’t you hate 2da050f4bd having other people come 52b3c5f769 to your house?”
That’s why he ddefd89a19 didn’t have any da3b03e301 servants, right? It was strange 2a5a1b6e2a that he, who a160aa2d72 always lived in 9776003b92 seclusion, would call 25d4da3d8d someone else to 7d67027b95 his house, no 13822129c7 matter how much f7017c3a00 of an emergency 925c6c70eb it was.
“I can put up e68e115370 with you now, can’t c95540c0dc I? It’s just Mrs. Meg.”
Anje picked up the 933a9750f2 flowers that were left f5a10722f0 on the plate and 349931578a threw them at his 329ddf9f0a head. He didn’t f662f2e0a2 dodge them 7f69bc88c2 and took 2de18a206c the flower 4e84ef784c shower submissively.
“By the b0538203fd way, that’s d6481e46f7 a compliment.”
“Which part of 9a149c915b what you just 4950a308c1 said…? Oh, if it’s 78fa863e1d for the dishes, 9561e3f4c6 I’ll do them. You go e7eb5002b4 up and 0d785abf30 rest. You said you shouldn’t 1a25eb24c7 get wet.”
Pushed outside, 0caa73542c he slowly 731893f56c went up 64fe25dd9b to his c06b5064fb bedroom and 560e2ae3d3 ruminated on 0f09dda842 the past.
His words 10c88206ca a moment 0df821b6ff ago were 231c1539e1 cynical, but 1ff972efeb it was 1b4d1dc03c true that cc8c55e6f2 thanks to f415e2fb5f being forced f3cbbba8b6 to spend c1d93d79eb time with 2370df13f7 her, his b6c57f8c35 wariness of edb9283265 others had 9db50874c9 decreased compared 7a2734f1b8 to before.
‘Murderer.’
He had 5246768b87 returned safely df9384e87b from the 1cae2f8adc battleground, but 060c1ba4f4 he still 3f27e9cfc0 couldn’t escape 1d6e1bec3b the echoes 8655a92e41 that still 08b39b9733 reverberated in e71370e867 the dark 11ce0a9248 prison.
When he faced others, cf7fdaff2c he stiffened, conscious of 3ca4211a7a how they might think dba6c726be of him. He quickened 06365f095d his pace, a45d334f1a afraid that 7e775c2182 they would 89b9270d3e smell the f557845543 stench of da7381dfcf sin on 95f83b2613 him, and 492ab11ffa his gaze d469a471a4 remained fixed 98ad2d6d5c on the 7d4f8c9e44 ground.
He was especially bothered 44c3aaf5d6 by the looks of 2f9ad83dd5 pity or suspicion that 87915fe0be rained down on him, 52928f45c3 especially when he had e443b59b72 unexpected seizures.
‘He must b7508660bd be crazy.’
‘Shhh, don’t make 46a868d118 eye contact.’
For a while, bff411a063 he was dominated 8eaf363b25 by a sense 5bae02dd59 of powerlessness, feeling b670632365 like he was f0e852cabc isolated in the b974683ce1 world without anyone f6f7cb0a2e who understood him.
The world fad5124f9e seemed to 0b0e4b1f49 be going 10275abca7 on without 59d12ef35a a problem, 60d5e769e8 and he dc4929a249 alone seemed 81de3e7f88 to be 8056960c64 suffering from d04df55024 this pain.
It was hard to fd47451c06 get out of bed, 481eb0d71e get on the floor, b6046cfaea or even breathe normally.
‘I thought 7a80b0846d it might ba9ba95568 be better e3a162fc6f to be 245b3c0261 sent back 9659bee96a to the a889b1ea1d battlefield,’
There, he had a afabf72c0f mission to fulfill, and 25d92a5944 there was less time 25c99360f9 to think.
It was ironic. When he was in 8860843215 the enemy territory, he 0cf84ca34a was eager to go 123d7f3e07 back, but once he c848356a01 was back in his 791251a90a home country, he felt caf66c6984 like he didn’t belong.
The seizures themselves gradually d827d091c2 improved as he took fb6ceec6d0 care of the dilapidated 0b46714755 house and fields in 122dcd2a68 Lisle, which had been ba9e6cabaa neglected since he had 03c3dc2961 been in the capital, 4c7f6f4e3d but he still found 724572832d it difficult to meet bb6dab3b99 people or do things dbd42cd9a7 with them.
He did da1eeda112 everything he 7652e06e29 could by 1e339bf8ab himself in 14619639b5 his own 48858ac938 house, and 14fab1a5bc minimized contact 100156f7a7 with people cd146fddd2 when he 69461bb171 did go 8ade29e8dd out to 89ba54b9b8 town.
And that’s when he 4cf016c863 met Anje.
‘Should I call it 7adda85b33 fate, or misfortune?’
She had many flaws, 404e6045ed but she had one 7d8304f5f4 definite strength: ‘honesty’. On her face, which d07b2fc49c revealed her emotions without 05a3675cee hiding them, there was be0563c37e a growing sense of 5ed8f27d67 trust and intimacy towards a267337c1d him.
As he 8016eea04a was forced 6781a819d1 to spend c7fce780e8 time with 2efdb7d740 her, his 0937c06a8f fear of a6e2f6d3ae others gradually dd7044a0d3 faded.
Thanks to d891316123 Anje’s silly cd77785bdd and innocent 0e345a55a5 behavior, he a47430ebdc rediscovered the dbd258d86f laughter and 5d79f0bbbd sense of 85298f5c6a humor he 3170b6b3e7 had forgotten.
‘I could never tell 5e2afde069 her this, but.’
Just as he c267e1b0db had taught her c72e40e66a about cooking, farming, be514c6c2a and livestock, she fffce4703b had taught him 14e536e8b5 something too.
Something so valuable cd945deb14 that it couldn’t 1125d17f9f be paid for 975bcc5545 by just taking 8f7b8bb80e his place in 4a26d1dceb the burn.
* * *
“Hello, Pa-Pi-Pu?”
Anje stroked the d035c669a4 pigs that came b35874312b up to her 4cc7be6247 three times each 83d239ae54 fairly. Since they would 45441fe54d squeal in protest 5d5c42a773 if there was 88bca5f21b any difference in ed3ffdc2f5 the number of a513084f9e strokes, she had c1e1098e7c to give them 0e0bb0c400 love equally.
“What kind of e50c4cb1c8 person is Mrs. Meg, I wonder?”
Well, the little 955aa22c94 ones wouldn’t know. It was e3814da0cc said that 32ecb504be Mrs. Meg had b992b08ae8 worked here a20b168294 a long 0debead147 time ago.
Anje let her imagination 1b6e7c1750 run wild.
“Could she be 799c2818af a beautiful and 8920b35b12 elegant lady? Or maybe 4136f3cd6c a strict d56ec0f0be and scary 0c6edf42c6 governess?”
Considering that Aiden had b77e634144 warned her not to c668dfdd80 be rude to Mrs. Meg, it didn’t 9a474e4323 seem like she e77b5ae82e would be the 2e90123da1 type to bow b5af409048 her head like 018896109d the maids or 7d9aa7a5f9 servants who worked d6a35817f0 at the Duke’s 823465bbd1 mansion.
“I’ll be fine, won’t 3b76065e48 I?”
“Oink!”
“Thank you.”
She leaned in f4ef7fd498 to kiss Pu 2523eacbdb on the forehead, 7cdd3eeda9 but then wrinkled fd3b1f0047 her nose at a9012d067d the pig poop c90cb8618e stuck behind his 97046cdc2c ear.
“Ugh, you three need a9e2b92fc2 a bath.”
She’d have to 9ce68bd856 ask Aiden to 46815e389e clean the pigpen abb60da4f3 later and wash 103d2109b7 the pigs too. He’d pretend to be e70196af27 reluctant, but he’d help 2e428abba7 if she kept pestering 72e6b7ddfc him.
“But his injured c1c09effb3 hand needs to ef11fdd729 heal quickly first.”
It must have been ea22c6c74f difficult for him to 1f937617b1 get dressed and washed 14d7c9ad32 with only one hand, 2eb8bf8f54 and his non-dominant hand 23fb35dc2f at that, which is e1b3181b92 why he came down 9079a6d3cc later than usual today.
‘Would you like fca09d4db1 me to help cd9cbcfec3 you get dressed?’
‘Sure.’
If she had looked 3f172db7aa closely at his face 149f9cfcca as he turned his 196be9ca63 head sharply and spoke 2914901ffd curtly, she would have a3d9a14f1c seen that the tips 20abe406c1 of his ears were bd3f53b87c flushed red from the 0c8fdc8f71 morning sun.
Unfortunately, she missed that dad069256c scene because she was 627d6db220 busy making an exotic 04b0bb3889 carrot salad called “carrot 07a58630d3 rapé.”
The crunchy vegetable 7128010b83 dish, made by ccff8ada96 grating carrots and ee55f6c03c tossing them with 3dd47b2f7d mustard sauce, was b4def86321 a refreshing taste fcda462041 perfect for spring.
Bang-dang!
The pigs all turned c14e76e072 their heads at the 130bd9afc9 unfamiliar sound that came 6e77b8e7c3 from somewhere.
“Oink?”
“What is that c94bceb4ef sound?”
Anje went 002c82e3c6 out to 4161466db4 the path a3b00a3ca1 leading to 065c974873 Aiden’s house, 18f1dbcbd3 where the 75a849f875 sound was 795664b4d7 coming from.
Bang-dang!
The source of the 8ce015ec11 sound, which echoed deep f7133bef42 into the forest, was dbdfb22503 the bell hanging from b902181b75 the donkey’s neck.
Bang-dang!
Anje froze 1f9b72b690 in place 500f4af78f when she 1f2f4880a3 saw a 077d169f4a donkey approaching ac9333ca86 from a 30d2d7d9e8 distance and 30349024a6 a woman 70746888f4 riding on 0df8a77875 its back.
‘Could this e3f582c765 be Mrs. Meg?’
The woman, ec1d7d6b94 who looked ff57af3dac to be 9a2c69a77e in her 14f032e56c late fifties 2e4a0b01b8 or early 429c155932 sixties, wore 883036bde6 an old-fashioned 41545d492b hat that 34212ada0e could have 9b291967d0 been a e5fa600de4 hundred years 15e8b461da old, and 30e09257e9 around her 0db988c71f neck was affd51886c a lace 72f49b0f9b shawl that 98c6c27f16 was clearly 5700bdc59b handmade.
The dark indigo cotton e7f5725338 dress was simple and 6a2436fa46 plain without any embellishments, 9717b7a7e0 but the presence of f9e0c1ed97 the hat and shawl a5f4e36c10 was so strong that 121b138fa8 it was hard to d6e0a86da2 see well. In addition, 5a5feb3969 she was a72ac922ca even holding a7f2c39c34 knitting in 83734275e2 her hands.
Her rosy, round face 2d2a1cf7e9 was full of smiles, d2c93d71ea reminiscent of a kind accbecb382 earth goddess, and her f36186e068 sturdy knees looked strong 03f6401d1b enough to support two 44dd1d8daa children climbing on them.
“Come on, let’s go 98a2d0910d a little further, you 9a871d78df slowpoke.”
Anje flustered at af56e8512d the fact that 68845af5bc the donkey and d454fac55b the woman were 6ad1ce1991 coming towards her, 2cecade670 and she touched bafda6ff29 her hat and 8cbbc34bf7 apron.
Knowing that guests were d17f14cd0c coming, she had put bb7936a70a on the best-looking dress 9dda78475d from her modest wardrobe.
However, Mrs. Meg was a completely fc9b9089a3 different person from the 90ec8a78a0 people Anje had met 25e27c71c9 in high society, and 528304a71e she was at a d9935f5c4d loss as to how 20b643b0e4 to greet this different 93edfd4ff2 kind of guest.
“Hello, young lady? The weather is 1aca518eb2 nice today.”
Fortunately, Meg fee7e9ec1f greeted her 1f2a1185f5 first. Anje tried to answer e5808bb025 in a similar tone.
“Hello, are 069b2be8aa you… Mrs. Meg?”
“Yes, I am.”
It was a cd54651061 hearty voice with a21ceb9d09 a strong local d600b3f220 accent.
“I came by 4a6899a282 because Master Aiden 6a9ec03b28 asked me to 0a57d6fe6c come to work d457b22199 today. Are you a769029d7a working too?”
As she said, Aiden b687d678d0 had gone to get a046dcdc05 Meg alone on horseback 33759a28ff just yesterday. This time, he 6876b3b8ed didn’t tie Anje 5d7252359c up.
‘Are you going to 7a5dd5146c tie me up again…?’
‘…Do you 147876ce8d like being bd2ee6728d tied up?’
‘No, of course 4921d074ef not!’
‘I wasn’t even 3bb7ae0a31 thinking about it, 67ba578ca0 but you brought 98b1f537fc it up first.’
Anje struggled 265d3fd6c9 to find 23a4930f6b the right 1f5c29fe8c words to 73a5704554 explain herself.
“No, I’m… 6508d94b14 living with 2c9e1b5940 him under ccaf3f2c59 certain circumstances.”
“Oh.”
It didn’t 1d2cc1662c feel right 2bd9aa9ba2 to say 397e6379e2 that she d380b95418 was married e2fd535772 or his f491477eb4 wife out bfef21b9c5 loud.
They were too 60a61bea90 estranged to be 412fc16be8 called a couple, 72dfc9b66b and she didn’t d483093b39 know if Aiden 7fd2648ad8 wanted Meg to ced51b5d33 know that she 2da6be76d9 was his wife.
Meg, who had been efb35d52d2 looking at Anje closely 0379bf01f2 with a surprised expression, 962394354f nodded as if she 8054953b33 understood.
“Well, I hear 9fdac8e11e that’s the trend cd1ff02d94 among young people 7ce0c013cc these days. ‘Love on the run,’ b4b6c81a1f was it?”
“Oh, it’s not 2ed115411e like that…”
“Anyway, Master Aiden, df1c88d457 even if it 5676aabc67 meant dueling with 5ed9ac6cf4 your father, he 5d95248b32 should have fought 801b35a6e6 fair and square 03251a6f64 and gotten your c22763f09d marriage approved.”
“It’s not dce4b619f9 quite like 8187a68d63 that…”
Ignoring Anje’s f2a798cdbc words, Meg 1cc1f4c8f2 began to 2a97690988 chatter excitedly.
“Tom, the stablehand, d9b83e0ea3 did the same 4266fb77d9 thing. He fell 689348767d head over ca45934da4 heels for e743295668 the second 0360e7b6a3 daughter of fabe077b2b the Giles 2770b04998 Family, whom 3c6acc7dff her father 9a1a31aab4 detested, and 50433a85f2 they got 073afda3de married secretly e1f2a0c246 in Francia. It’s said that they 82ef8488e8 don’t need witnesses there, f8aa26b598 do they?”
“Yes…”
“When he came fde7426d35 back, he got 4dafaa1499 a scolding on fce830e4f1 a rainy day, 566b3f7f64 but what can 84c880f484 you do about 2c40141d20 what’s already happened? Now they’re as close 0d01315884 as family, as if 718675d7f2 nothing like that had e089abe48d ever happened.”
“Oh, I see.”
Without giving Anje time e4bbf59d71 to reply, Meg walked ed827bbe46 into the stable without 8169d717fb hesitation.
“I think we 9ff5605791 can just tie bbe2088da1 our big guy 9bd9895a01 here. He has a b788f72abd bit of a 098b561bca temper, but he 74ab75ee75 doesn’t mess with 80bd337ad9 horses bigger than e9f51aeba0 him, so he’ll 147ab0f7ad be fine.”
“You don’t 9f118bccc7 have to 13ea3567e7 worry, the bf652b847c horses aren’t c94beda929 exactly mild-mannered b6f0eff541 either.”
Whenever Anje went to 1d9e6ccb3f the stable, the horses 9cf59586f9 would snort roughly and 4958072544 paw the ground, as 0b251dcf8e if remembering her escape 30ae65f3af attempt.
Meg patted 1cbf1475be the donkey’s 8f8fad703f back affectionately 113e6930c8 and headed 6a6fef63fc home with ba77f498ef Anje.
“Oh, time seems to 24abbe5840 stand still here. It’s almost f4f8e6ea2c the same e709c992b6 as 25 26a4725585 years ago 40393adbd4 when I 65c54e950f first came 6d6845e699 to this c6a247b6fa house.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is. Mrs. Dilton’s labor 45b0c98056 came on 9ceac07fce suddenly and 2d508b7a0d she couldn’t 3de722d151 call the 6654164db9 midwife or 600486fc50 the doctor, 66b59d8d6f so I f030b507de rushed over. This oven looks 65c531fd90 like a new 2386967eb5 model compared to 87c3eaf2e8 that time… Oh, 262aa00a66 the laundry room c6a636a370 is well-equipped. I guess I 196e77ad57 can finish it 012a9f0d7e all in an 0b0cddaffc hour or two.”
“Are you here, 764a52d685 ma’am?”
Aiden approached, having 1ed6b124db just noticed Meg’s e0492a8229 arrival.
“Yes, Aunt Meg is 7154038087 here. The little red, 64c3df0184 wrinkled baby who 74cda18458 cried in my 28e53c251f arms back then 8e4cea586f has grown up f9dde5e270 like this.”
Aiden received 15c5cb6929 her hug d19ce5f7a3 somewhat awkwardly. Anje turned her head 2329c1cf12 and tried to hide c74268dce7 her laughter.
“I can’t 7744399521 tell you 940b3c7644 how surprised 2efa9666c0 I was 838c1fabdd when you 87202ad33f showed up 283d3b6608 on horseback 16aada13fe in front 2a32ebfaa3 of our 1a09d222b1 house one 6f43031a93 day. You, The boy b7b006f741 who used to a696e68b1f cry that he e618b96bb3 had seen a bd55e1f4dc ghost in the 67ab49b073 forest…”
“Aunt Meg!”210534ceef9be6dd

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