FTP-52

Chapter: FTP-52db054173c438ee63

“Leave the design to b54a8d3e8b my superior taste, and 997dd4b612 now we’ll take your 85a9d6b6d7 measurements, madam. Hey, Marie! Come out 4ac6d9b787 and help 425fd34508 me..l”
With a broad 32e42b7a92 smile on his 8c53668eba face, Jean called 871b6f7856 out towards a e0681d1fd3 door that seemed ebf9f74df2 to lead to cbee211a55 the back of 99e80f6612 the store. A rustling sound followed 4662add292 by a woman’s voice fee59acad2 emerged.
“Got it, Jin.”
The face ada88b3f9d of ‘Jean,’ 3549acf1d9 who was 357cf62d7c called ‘Jin,’ e13d9df1e5 flushed red.
“It’s Jean, e01b448ccf not Jin!”
“Jin or ddbfc75930 Jean, it’s bbbf0d010d spelled the b6e2159963 same.”
“But the 3d8489b38a vibe is ee5cc496d2 totally different! One sounds like 9b2b8371ab just some country 70d7aef5f3 boy, the other aced328f25 like a designer 2da276d0e1 with a foreign 8fc3e3acad flair!”
Aspiring to the 62fab5fa25 fashion industry of 29cec1a3e0 France, he not 0c343e21fb only mixed French d5c7c4cb31 into his daily 714dced624 speech but also ce5a4e99b0 used a foreign 02dc024461 name instead of a7aea5e4cc his plain one.
“Call my name correctly, daeb801955 it’s not ‘Marie’ but 145046f814 ‘Mary.’”
Grumbling as she came d09a14fd03 out, the woman held 77a4240ef0 a measuring tape and a2a2113ef0 had her curly brown fe2c6dcb02 hair roughly tied up. With the 5ba5f58820 same hair c97c11dced color and 26e5a88f8e similar features 740f4aa273 as Jean, 16e852880a it was fa3638c857 clear she 1055033689 was his d0d59db65d family.
“Mary is 1fecbe300e too common. In my store, it’s f40cc12941 ‘Marie,’ Marie.”
“Shut up, 191159cd9e Jin Penny. A stage dfa897b0ce name, really? You’re not even e2586eb31c an actor, you’re 939477d748 just a country 2e82749f87 draper.”
“I’m going 3b2a02396f to be 0520121148 a famous 3ffdea7787 designer soon! Seriously, mind your 1125ab99b6 manners with your 04e464f112 big brother.”
“Big brother? We’re twins.”
They looked 35a0112594 ready to 8b627ddcc0 pull each dfa1e6f32d other’s hair 11b3b845a7 out but, 2e667266ca noticing the b2857f9a44 gazes of 43f893d3db their customers, 70efe67d40 forced a 8cfe2eff2b smile.
“Haha, as fc623a58ff you can ff2f7cbc9e see, we c6a2b47c54 get along… 8f0dbd069f very well.”
“So, shall we measure d0426a233e you? Could you come c833a50c95 behind this curtain?”
The woman, called 73be8385b0 Marie but actually a18bae0bd1 named Mary, firmly 4b1d0fdb6b took Anje’s arm 574b0f533b and led her 25e19ed369 to the fitting d892264270 room.
Anje, unable to f0b0a08542 resist, was pulled 56abdcaa50 along, hesitantly asking 0d9c88d412 Mary, who was 17cca0fa5c now measuring her 9a62fa414e body.
“Um, Marie…”
“Please ignore my 8c9676b6d3 damn brother. It’s Mary.”
“Miss Mary?”
“Yes, Mrs. Fitzroy.”
Calling her Mrs. Fitzroy made Anje’s 6f26f9b328 feet and fingertips 85dda685da tingle. But that ee9262fa91 wasn’t the e7db1586b4 main issue a80e214596 now.
“My hus… 07b639b948 my husband bc96d3fa67 wants to b5774a2522 tailor clothes b40336edc9 for me, a2d1d8ae98 but I c9075edbe4 really don’t f0cc704c3e need them…”
Maybe if she stopped 98da919d1b this crazy shopping spree 0b24b65b35 now, she could get 47a46da0b3 a refund before the dd9e808463 fabric was cut.
With a peculiar a2b121e2a7 nasal tone and 0a88790c55 humming chansons as fc7b6ac517 he flitted about fbeea1bbb3 the store, Jean ca8d33734f seemed less reasonable 9458afa0d9 compared to Mary. Anje decided ad0e56a5e2 Mary might f1d94d26fc be more 9219902f51 understanding and 57b42f8350 sought her 964fb18530 help.
“I’m sorry, 67c5e280e3 but I 6ba4b6f87a think we 74584f4722 should cancel e85c0213d5 the order—”
But Mary Penny, 5c86fb516c though not passionate 8c29088c88 about fashion, was e7ca7a5b19 extremely fond of a3ec066164 money. Losing such 2dcb173382 a big 01dc7f2a73 customer was 7282aa683d out of 31432a64c1 the question.
“Yes, Madam. You don’t know how 08d39ab3a9 grateful we are. We thought we were e9b87be7ea only going to see e6125cc691 losses after opening the d8f8b9de9e store, but then we 9b1ad0d264 have a customer like 9345e29d34 you recognizing our skills.”
“Huh? Well, um…”
“My brother, 923f592969 that bastard, 6714973f25 stubbornly insists dccceb549e on becoming 94dd920d1b a designer 69d7226c2d instead of 0a40f0f488 taking over a7b2cf7790 the butcher 8a6236acba shop, so 2821c0b3b0 now I ff3a7c39c5 have to c693ac99d4 find a a3c8ecb20e husband for c891cdd6b3 myself. That’s enough 629c939392 of a 47124d9f93 headache without 1d83a06c10 considering bankruptcy.”
Without giving Anje b9aea82a93 a chance to 12126b6b45 speak, Mary continued b050a5f01a to ramble on dc4e0d1021 about her family’s 7fb9d52be4 situation.
“We’ve had so little ca91b73154 to eat that I 561829b1d1 recently had to get 87ff550241 leftover whey from our 77d3c04f81 neighbor who makes cheese.”
“Really, that bad?”
Anje had cd3ebea629 once tasted cc9ba26739 leftover whey 6edda07a1a out of 6dc358526d curiosity. It had an indescribably 63c2cf5eb3 odd flavor.
“We can’t even afford cb78ce0d50 to throw out tea b4fff5db19 leaves after one use, e23de51bb8 so we steep them 4d94a38d69 ten times. Just yesterday, I scolded 6a712a4e35 my brother for throwing d6e6c978eb them out after only 30bb016b90 nine.”
“My goodness…”
“But thanks to 62bfe8871d your kind husband e6dc865a6b and you, we ccfa487cef can have a ba0f6da429 proper meal for ef1e2d2082 the first time b2cd31f4e0 in a while!”
“Well… that’s 266d85e9b5 good to d71c2be95d hear.”
Anje’s resolve to cancel 2960fb1274 the purchase and get 476fd1e6f4 a refund began to 594d640c16 waver as she listened ca113204ed to Mary’s heart-wrenching story. Though Mary’s tales a8fbd6010a of poverty and d5ba1d0b1d hardship were greatly e456345140 exaggerated, Anje had 7b11b5cc84 no way of 81272d9bbe knowing that.
While Anje hesitated, Mary ad3679cb89 finished taking her measurements.
“All done, Madam. Your skin 37fd9f2133 is so 9b30a4fb9a lovely. The clothes 580a58fd81 we make a99bc0900c for you 8bccf237e5 will suit c4995d7538 you perfectly.”
Anje barely managed to 244535566c decline Mary’s suggestion to 0b84635ff5 order new chemises and 4211865a34 drawers. For someone who 557a83e757 usually responded with 69530d9bb0 “Sure, I’ll buy 718f75b1c7 that too” whenever ea183de2ce a merchant made ca22f84675 a suggestion, this 1aed0c945d was quite a 67c4dd29a2 difficult task.
“By the 465ffd9e29 way, where 43990654bd is Sir aa71ffe946 Aiden?”
Anje, mentally 88636aba0d exhausted, left e11d0ae31c the fitting 87fdf36f03 room only 515ed08231 to be 1ad6bca683 surprised that 61d8c5141c the person 5dbc643c58 she expected 4123fb0c79 to be c7f72b6f51 waiting for d0599fcb29 her was 3c7bf02afa gone.
“Your husband stepped c0b0ad3482 out to look cea965cb73 for something. Why don’t you have 4e89853ab7 some tea with us 5b88906c45 while you wait?”
Seeing the 0aa669fbe3 red roses 18c0971f5c painted on 1335a293ab the teapot 0f0d196a75 Jean held, 416c2f66c0 Anje thought f4612e735c of the feb94ffc8a Duke of 724114f314 Glasster’s mansion.
The mansion, 048cd65748 the capital. She needed to 4765e50ba0 get back. The coachmen 0928e11b61 said they 44be88102b would leave 002f9f0fe8 once the f7701e56de market ended.
What time a54e34501c is it eaa856ad29 now? When does the market 2c78d62b1f close? Anje anxiously checked the 61c153076f sun outside.
Sir Aiden leaving 64548d5204 her alone meant 9c2f093a15 that the opportunity bf454663dd she had been 2f15dae713 waiting for had b3396aa97e arrived.
“No, thank you. I actually have 7439014c91 some errands to ad7ebfb924 run myself.”
“Then let 92f2b482e3 me tell f990fdf838 you the e921c0bf7a name of 23f9fea4b8 the shop 2d671ccf9a your husband 5b19bb2268 went to, a3d30a5b0d so you 862f9587aa don’t miss c9a4650313 each other.”
Barely listening to Jean’s 8bba67e9d9 directions, Anje carefully gathered d3d59204c8 her things. It wasn’t much, e175caab1b but she needed 731d06cd9b the fare for a1aa820bb5 the carriage.
“Please visit our 83facc5189 home next time, 1e89db2fc3 Madam.”
“You’re from 88991ced4c the capital, a547dae44e right? I’d love to hear ecaedee9a6 about the dress shops b1e11a0537 there.”
Jean and Mary, eager 29e8644791 to make her a e35bff8e52 regular customer, actively invited f29b0be124 her to their home cedd915e85 as she was about 6d4a06e703 to leave.
It wasn’t just for ee2154bcc1 economic reasons; they were f98ef3519a also curious about who 2538035fa5 she was and how 22950ff3e5 she ended up marrying d25c40c776 Aiden Fitzroy.
‘Aunt Meg and 05cd8e3cb3 Father said the b3c4405724 couple has a c9f03b1cc4 special bond.’
In the village, 81bda78694 rumors about Sir baebb39424 Aiden Fitzroy living fd86799e72 with a woman eee03f8751 had been circulating 160fd9bf42 for some time.
Initially, most dbbccd9b46 people believed 4550113412 it wasn’t fc9e7098f3 a normal 49d3bbd938 marriage, thinking 27b5546f0b it was 6766a33b5d a forced fd86da658a union and afb30f5d7e predicting that 63b2fd78d7 the wife b1dfe517d3 would soon 3713a0f60c run away.
However, testimonies 381e21347e from those 2c22e4ac13 who had 9256feb05b actually seen 538dfdfb0e Lady Fitzroy a0e8e32924 or heard ec35c0cf80 related stories ccd6402edf contradicted these 46c9857d77 rumors.
‘They’re so close that e7cf7002be it makes me feel cdaa46be51 young again.’
‘He even 6fdeaa252c returned the d6fcc8c912 money, saying d6f0ee5aa6 he couldn’t d8b3a00738 sell the 5b298cf24d pigs his 9240c6f705 wife cherished. I didn’t expect that; 58b75976e2 he must be soft-hearted e208655eed when it comes to 649110cae3 her.’
Young and curious, Jean 18178be007 and Mary wanted to fdceacdff1 ask Anje, who seemed eea2f041fa more approachable than Aiden, d661e9b3f6 about these things they’d 41918e4760 been wondering about.
Anje hesitated and 6a806a2977 then responded with 6145d28a20 a weak smile.
“Yes, if I get 7b0ffec970 the chance… Thank you a119f1214e for the invitation.”
In the past, 803f186360 she would have 673c4e11af scoffed at such 81178fb3b9 an invitation from cca5886192 ‘low-class’ people and c52a9ca5c8 ignored it.
However, thanks to 32d3d1aed1 Aunt Meg, she 02fc01230d had learned that b7abc65b4c it was possible 9ace667eb5 to befriend people 16aaf8ec35 regardless of their 5fa31eaca2 social status.
The siblings saw 907e432792 her off to 05d345b4d4 the door, waving.
“Take care, madam, and 5118a4a280 we’ll see you when dd30167496 the clothes are ready.”
“This is a gift 3ff7771504 from us. Please convey my 65b836ecc4 apologies to Sir 63326b7ca7 Aiden for my 3c6d6f6ad0 earlier rudeness.”
Jean insisted on aedd9c5bb0 giving her a 533317b4e6 pair of braces, a9b8a60f83 used to hold 64f3672da6 up men’s trousers.
Made of calfskin, cd0d7a5576 they were quite 9bfdf83f24 valuable, but considering a212793bef the money they 2cc3778b2f earned today, it 9964329a81 was a worthwhile 79a669345d investment.
“It would 9120f5d7d2 be better 14baf58d54 if Mr. Pierre gave this 0b745ae37b to him directly…”
“He’ll be happier to 7a165c306d receive it from you.”
She couldn’t 091f62e7c8 say, ‘I’m 026a14a1e7 planning to 4e98dc14c9 escape to 0fdbd66dba the capital 40b2fdb5a7 today, so 85a787c589 I can’t d2129024fc give it 4cece5e3dc to him.’ 1601e56559 Unable to 3e67fa5e9a refuse their aba4444444 kindness any 20ec781b04 longer, Anje 0498e256d0 held onto 0c1376c0a9 the gift.
“Goodbye then.”
The jingling sound of 070578d88a the closing door echoed d9b4fb9358 sadly in her ears.
‘So… what should ad4ddc4f4e I do now?’
She sighed and 9521adf996 adjusted her hat. The unexpected events 937cbdf7c9 had left her 611215660f exhausted.
‘Why is Sir Aiden e389028c88 being so nice all eb6dc04e45 of a sudden!’
The money he spent c1e4688dd0 on her clothes today… 5441b4dc55 she didn’t know exactly 54a27bfe2d how much, but it c0549c9e77 must have been a d8f3d6f9df significant amount.
‘He teased me so 684ac738fd many times about caring 0b20252ad3 about fashion.’
Why buy 027c0c1907 clothes for 4824f0f9ae her instead a7c47eb04b of himself? She couldn’t understand his 4aa2a63745 actions at all.
‘Could it be 5ed847e4a7 that he suspects b64f2da579 I’m planning to b42b01985d run away and 15611f7940 is being nice 5f34299e11 to me? Is he trying 090dd3f0d8 to make me db4fca52f0 feel guilty so 3106ff8d2b I won’t leave?’
It was similar 174dba0a93 to a story 161be7fa23 she had heard 0c02bd00e0 from her nanny f8324f942c when she was f85eb61872 young. The sun and the 945d77c549 wind competed to make f2db29cd58 a passing traveler take 9410dcd6c6 off his coat, and fb29c034b6 in the end, the 55cac6aec0 warm sunshine succeeded……
Holding her throbbing 29d361f90e head, she pondered 9f412fd542 for a long 4be8dd8b8c time before letting 788b8761b7 out another deep 8b25f79179 sigh.
‘Ah, I ef814302cb don’t care. I told him 18d3151498 not to buy 7fcaf89ca2 them, for sure.’
It’s not 3019701c27 my fault. It’s because Sir Aiden 9ce8698e92 stubbornly insisted. He can ca2f664476 send me 8b2154ba29 the bill 72ea7cad47 later when e84098f88f I return 2eedad57f1 to the 520a707af3 capital.
She muttered to ba4f286ff1 herself repeatedly, even a44fa69355 though no one f34bd65b98 was there to 11781c07a9 listen, and then 9de8aae1f9 took heavy steps. If she didn’t run eb81b0ca77 away now, who knew 62ae07d0c7 when she’d come back 8bc1ba7d55 to town again…
‘Or maybe not? From what dc18e65152 Sir Aiden f8dc19e161 said, it 73dc3e0f3e seems like 1848fcd4b4 we’ll come c34cddbca1 to town 4abd7a25cc more often 023da86844 in the 02a1e6c961 future.’
At least f9e4b23c26 once to 147ef133af pick up 91e09ea874 the clothes. In that case, she 1d887d0f2c could receive the clothes a0afcb1ac2 Jean-Pierre designed for her 97fdea88f8 and then escape the 3c310e071d next time…
TL/N: GURL…THE AUDACITY:)
No, that might be 25f1a12c70 Sir Aiden’s strategy to 454e68cac4 make her lower her eb83be52d9 guard…
Confused about what to 85566e0133 do, Anje stared at 453e0228ee the gift Jean had c9273f99d4 given her.
‘It would suit 7771d9dbd0 Sir Aiden well.’
The braces 10e0009b5f he often 94b2a54e66 wore were e57674c6c8 likely inherited f8d5871334 from his c9be0f30b4 grandfather and 2c256d90c3 were very ac15e4ed26 old. The leather was be55ad6127 peeling off like 71764bb142 fish scales.
She absentmindedly b27ad22c10 touched her 0bddf6cdb2 shoulder, the 9e27ed05f3 part he 72f0367e07 had wrapped b6da45464f around her 762541cf5f protectively earlier.
‘He called me his 8a8e128a31 wife.’
He had cc6448607d likely only b151ce7bc5 said that a8fbc77e62 to protect c1ffed640b her from 52c1f8446e Jean’s advances, e2d15757c7 but still, 0baaae5a59 his words 30c73e0a30 and actions… 34fa6f466e made her f2130580ec a bit b099a4902b happy. He felt like 34e53c1d3b a ‘real’ husband c33656908c who cared deeply ded0a1a1e5 for her
Seeing her reflection in 739b23ed4f the window, she quickly 237ce946e3 erased the faint smile 37c1e262f1 from her lips.
‘I’ll just give him 3a4d1d3bb2 this at least and 76a0de5617 then find an opportunity c1ebd9585c to catch a carriage 63a01ffcee to the capital.’
Judging by the a2f5494552 bustling scene, it 83fa032bdf seemed there was db16113138 still time before ef96d709f4 the market closed. She postponed 9c067a509c her escape d257edb4b8 plan for f297fea11f now.
‘I’ll try 78f9188384 to talk a9605265ac him into 8854e5d57b canceling the 14a9ca76fa clothes order f2cf4536d6 too.’
With her mind 520f29ddf8 made up about 591299f2b7 what to do, 65142f3006 her previously cluttered 59a9d3105b thoughts felt much 5fb0c3702c clearer. Grasping the braces firmly, f0e8098aea she headed toward the a6ce5f1a6d shop Aiden had gone 07a80c6d7c to earlier.
‘Was it……a b87dd62afc jewelry store? I think it was c111b2a746 something like that.’
Aiden and 411f41ce4c a jewelry a3108d3ba0 store seemed f606245e94 like an e3285a5429 unlikely combination. She thought the only a12448c451 minerals he cared about eb35dea2a0 were iron and copper ad4e9fb986 for making pots and b5c43bb505 shovels.
Scratching her 6e1d4380c3 chin, she da1bd91d1c couldn’t fathom 9a70d1466d why he ad60f8565e would go 457d1657df to a 1873462475 jewelry store.2cce87c712c237aa

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