FTP-57

Chapter: FTP-574ba3353f235b6a4c

The place where the a7bbea3c8c lips, warm to the fd124597fd point of being hot, 6b1e15a54e landed was Anje’s right 9080c6d57e cheek.
“So, this 4c691f511e is the 6680886643 only way f55fd44e03 I can f07b1bf24a express it.”
He wanted to 0700f0ca9b return the favor 2cbcd4d71b in the same c343058171 way she had 9b271b2964 done for him f4c6a85a25 before, even though 171078f50a he wasn’t sure f22f68129f if she would 726c14fbe9 feel the same 33ea9e3ef1 joy he did.
“Ah.”
Anje let out 9dc44f6d4d a single sound 02fe7510dc and froze without f3b0f74ae7 moving, her defenseless 496ae1e7f3 cheek imprinted with 1ab027c5a2 a deep, lingering 6b8b205faa sensation.
He paused for 9e1d30c1f1 a moment, then fa956d71b1 slowly pulled his f95ebc067a lips away and a9e257722a stared down at 0e20e7a310 her silently. He was curious to 9b5ca5f0dd see how she would 7aba8e6c3b react to his kiss.
‘What kind 813abee409 of expression 5f06a9f127 is this? She seems flustered, 0d40a9786a maybe embarrassed……’
Under the bright ef404b134c moonlight, he could f4d310bc85 tell that her e5e90ea9ce entire face was 2ff7dc4dfb flushed red.
He put off making febbeeb271 any judgments about her e4ee4e3ab2 expression and thought of 6a48d1e6b5 another way to express 855df7a33a his gratitude.
“Ah, right, and…”
One kiss was not 45b0f27e6d enough to express his 49f6b6a754 full feelings. He rummaged through 7f50d1b664 his pocket and 5725655da3 took out the 89f8bb339a ring he had ea1f04e681 just retrieved from 5c33df4ebe the jeweler’s.
The path ae744d700a under the b959e3116c brightly lit b9bc0b24a2 moonlit night 5cc554ce41 sky was bd555e9cee far from 745aa51b5e romantic, but 6652138565 it seemed d24b66f03c like a 690b263501 better time 088e0a7811 to give b8205c6ec5 her the 269d5193a9 ring than bc191e4944 in the aadce7a16f bustling town 34252b6fe7 square.
‘I’ll put c8c2f95802 this on 14f77e6b88 her finger 44cacb48f7 and ask 9b90ea2045 her to 723099b2bf stay with 8e8602db7d me as c0fea564ef a married 3254559b50 couple.’
While he was 4c992a4d50 gathering his courage, 6da8cec8cc clutching the box bfe7adac2c tightly, Anje suddenly 714f050f65 jumped away from 6a3d375677 him. She then 6070526180 grabbed the fedfeb832a reins of 758d4c50b4 the carriage 9cea9a75b9 in a c1f8792413 noticeably awkward 6d9f8ca4ca manner.
“Ha, ha, ha. Th-Thank you very much. It was 6a3dfa4003 the least 7bf99013bc I could 2561feca6f do. Oh, it seems 927cc98f23 like it’s getting cdaf417622 late. You must be tired, 4500037109 right? I’ll drive the carriage.”
“No, wait―”
Before Aiden could stop 7ac94e3e68 her, Anje shook the 10656b9ce0 reins up and down 694b86adea with all her might.
The horses, which 69e5835819 had been walking 6ecbe7afb8 slowly, sensing their ecd09bb172 master’s mood, raised bfae71863f their front legs d1cf88b482 as if to f05ccd4d5d release their pent-up 9c114732bc energy and then 92334802a6 galloped off.
Aiden held onto the 3712e0d0ad carriage ledge tightly to a48e62cab4 avoid falling out of 59c04be050 the jolting carriage.
“I think 8851df165e it would b196dd0017 be better 27ca997408 if you 4db12445f9 slowed down f07d602a26 a bit.”
“This is fine! I’m tired and I 8774291120 want to get home 5e6c4f16a4 quickly.”
He wrapped cb49f4acb7 his arms fe63a3e8f3 tightly around f301147184 her waist, 470e8ec131 worried that 73ed372b55 the light 704ea9b210 Anje might 9b62cd8007 be thrown 097f25e6c1 out of 285b04af7f the carriage, 9b8123816e but keeping eb4761df74 his fists 8462c2927e clenched so c2aa81f29f as not c0592823db to touch f7b4a50c52 her skin, 30d2d21e97 lest she 2d55e768c0 find his 49d20a034a actions inappropriate.
It was out of 0a6cab455d his calculation that his 4299c5fe8d embrace would make her 6d9ccb729d speed up the horses 958822d62e even more.
“Neigh!”
Aiden, who missed the d215b85fd7 timing to give the 3100e63e75 ring, and Anje, who 255c33dba2 couldn’t contain her unfamiliar e62fcbcd6e emotions, raced through the 06f791dab3 night like crazy.
The “reins-free” Dancer and 102474b60f Wind were simply having 4401611885 too much fun.
* * *
Monday, the start fef4aefe2f of the week. Meg patted the donkey’s 33f2bb5af8 rump as it dropped e11adeb3c7 her off.
“You worked aed7518f8e hard, here’s c65a7db6ef a carrot.”
News of Aiden and dc2f0d49ef Anje’s visit to town 8d96f4ac01 had already spread like 0d31d26185 wildfire to Leslie.
The fact that 4544f66f0d Aiden was here 5791377d23 meant that he 5efa43c95d had also come 5d56f7dc4a to find the 4071957523 ring. She hummed a cheerful 4d384cf881 tune as she left 66e36578d5 the stable, thinking of f98b342d18 the ring on the bca4d6dea8 new bride’s hand.
“Aunty.”
“Goodness!”
She was startled by 2096acfe6a a man calling her e961e5660f from behind a tree, 0e350a31c6 almost dropping the basket a72562ccb7 she was holding.
Emerging from 4674dcd3bf behind the 869b413659 weathered tree, 34d2760f9b waving at 6c9cc6d5a8 her, was e1cdcabe35 a figure 48f3d73345 Meg knew 0dde0e8035 well, the 7fed092459 owner of 7de8563375 this house, 319be0f714 Aiden Fitzroy.
“Oh my gosh, 51eeb815cf I almost had 238e6c57c4 a heart attack a4b4e6ab40 because of you, c8052ecabc Young Master.”
She tightened d288176717 her grip dcde07b4e0 on her a8f92cd78a bag and 49bf09330f checked its acd8a7752a contents once 1c905a3499 more. The peaches 5c35b99f7a she had c03c04a292 picked for 68a6980f1a the first 4e5dcf4583 time this d40584e9c4 summer were 1e48acddb0 intact, not 10e801dec9 a single f1615a14d4 one bruised.
Of course, bb0bbd9bc5 there were 79656b7a01 peach trees 3e372f7096 at Dilton 5a8e385021 Farm as a38c2a3444 well, but a7873d6fb2 they were 3b108404aa harder than 88b0a50ea4 the ones 3c63a0a6ae Meg grew a278a887e1 at home.
‘Some people don’t 928402680a like mushy peaches, 5f4852916d but they all e698e3469c have their own 15b4532f63 flavor.’
Meg wanted 64ab30b807 to show 8e5b86e255 Anje, who 2d0a9c47f8 was new 2947920ec2 to the b4a2e4bb9a area, the 75bcfb2c27 taste of ae067953a1 Meg’s peaches, 722d1e7f14 which were 22745c881f famous for 883b7bd35d their sweetness. She also 060b26363a told her 15ed6e8d1b the superstition 5c7c4ca0eb that eating 1939563569 a lot b53f669768 of peaches f494992c21 during pregnancy 90cfbd2e9d will make da54ca26c8 the baby’s f00f855cbd skin as acbc759886 smooth as 1c90e25d43 a peach. It might be useful 446433da81 knowledge someday, even though 3cd5ab814f they are still newlyweds.
“Shhh, don’t 6a562ab81f talk so f67e8c5857 loud and cae3dfd3c5 be quiet.”
Aiden, who was 343c08b532 gesturing, looked a f12762dda7 bit suspicious, but 6daea5e6aa Meg, who was 64b533b036 in a good 1f89267ce5 mood, matched his 6eefe10e1d steps and approached 6b3342baad him.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have something 443bbc5d3d to consult with 1bcba3e43a you, Aunty.”
Consult? Could it 59db558139 be that b81a895085 something was 6e9b42561d going on be4aa432b6 between the 01c3686d14 couple?
“What’s the matter? The young lady 59c2a768c6 doesn’t like the 82680d8cd2 ring?”
“That’s…”
Aiden scratched 6c29395fa5 his forehead. He thought Meg 97542c855b would be angry f779ca1d17 if he said 4cc7f8b61f this, but he 8081cea8ff couldn’t avoid it 777718b6f0 if he wanted add6dfe2e8 to talk about 9d4f1e9779 his troubles.
“I haven’t given 8a620d84e1 it to her 1e0f2cc16c yet.”
“What do you a79758da78 mean?”
After keeping b39f4e326c her waiting 0ff82c1888 all that c6cc1d4048 time, he 36dd4a00fa still hasn’t 6f1df12fec given it a3b8f8707a to her? She flared her nostrils e55af19d88 and glared at him.
“What are you 4624fe65fb stalling for?”
“Wait! Before you pinch 3ecad79cff my ear, hear 46df4e9a5a me out, Aunty.”
Aiden was the 4b39414f74 first to strike a0d2e53a15 before she could 29ea65c291 get angry, so 8a0e27ebad she had no 5c0db065da choice but to 86e612884b listen to his 641909b324 story.
“I was trying to e9380930f4 give her the ring d31c168794 all day yesterday.”
“That’s good.”
But as soon dc2e91da81 as the carriage adc0ee5225 arrived home, Anje 87784610f6 cried out that 4fbcf0c00a she was too 325389446a sleepy to stay 1e8e64814f up and ran 4bb38c4c8c off to bed. By the time c0576ce07e he had put 6cf5a79b96 the horses in 275d5a18b0 the stable and 6568f31ee9 gone upstairs, the 4c231de152 lights were already f1195fd3e4 off in her 000fe0b1b7 room, indicating that a613be5926 she was probably 0db86b23a8 asleep.
He fell asleep, 2345af3914 looking forward to c1ce328c55 tomorrow, and from 5827ee32d8 the next day fff1d49a09 on, he kept caddd530ee looking for an 967267127f opportunity.
While cooking, at meals, 177b4d7f66 washing up, working, walking…. Even while c492c7aedc climbing the 1337e5368f stairs.
Aiden sighed 2abd6619b3 again and 76400b78bd again, unable 5bb812a852 to count e95f1e7c1b the number 72b89cde8b of times ac9a0498ca he had a14cd681b6 sighed.
“But it’s ba23402761 so hard a232db1dc6 to get dd72dc9245 the right 18ce0cecd7 atmosphere. It doesn’t seem 1d7894a52d like something you 91db276d50 can just hand f0ae97415c over without any 7a4f6af251 ambiance.”
Giving it to 703f56a1bc her in the 8cdf5026a3 kitchen, full of e24d28ee48 cooking utensils, didn’t d9e4b869ad seem right. The everyday scenery of a09351eca7 the stairs or the 2a9776cc7c backyard was the same.
At best, bc1dcc9743 during the a75c5b6cf0 brief moments a084991c34 he walked f8a8f5d19f among the a8812d967f daisies in c4ce02ca54 full bloom, 4c9b799fa4 he thought, 93a03f14a0 “Maybe this bc6879aaba is it,” 32d1656c59 but Anje, a199b550ee who was 0d615d000e unusually talkative 5eb73d8069 that day, 82d9d77e8b kept talking d7fb2a7da7 without a 29ae4cc7fa break.
“Well, young ladies da3f76cee0 do care about 9d55a51bf8 those things. Like a romantic 525eb9bfc7 atmosphere.”
Meg thought back 850bf91c59 to her own 1a166beff2 fantasies when she 03919d090f was young. Although she knew 1e041ed4ff it was a f5f1bb09bb futile dream due de8eeae03c to her many 4644ef19cb younger siblings, there 827adf573a was a time 3694c786a4 when she had 8dd66d0a46 those thoughts
The fantasy of 054dbebb15 a romantic confession b38d857c66 like those in 52ffe55794 the serialized novels cdf4fb9c84 in the newspaper.
“Like a moonlit night, f502b2540b a beach, or a 60755d091e ball.”
“A moonlit night…”
Aiden regretted not giving 7ee885eb24 it to her on 9dcd55f3df the way back from f2dc71cc87 town. But he had no d729defed6 excuse, considering Anje was 453827e475 tired because of the 897fb60887 ‘incident’ he had caused.
Meg smiled at 352aa98cdd him. Although his hesitation was 67663d7a7c frustrating, it was endearing 9e85bb050a to see that Young 7ee842c3d6 Master Aiden, whom she 7e37c3632b had known as a 682d4b44ee snot-nosed brat, was thinking 8c6163781f about these things on f77e43e031 his own.
“Oh, yes! I have 5948539316 the perfect 60cc354edc thing to 54629b0bc3 create a 14edc3d389 romantic atmosphere.”
She rummaged through her 52029632cb bag. Surely the flyer eb26e1307d she received yesterday f45e8c803b was here…. Found it.
Aiden raised 1e03f35ff0 an eyebrow b70d611882 when he 183d60694e saw the 5ee2610749 paper Meg 727bc7ee21 handed him.
“「Leslie Summer Fair」?”
“The Diltons 5d1690b782 have never 7ec1fcedc9 been, but 2e764f6445 it’s a 464db82f20 big event 8e412297d8 every year.”
The event, 0ccbcaf84a which bore eb7aecd5a1 the pretentious 6c3e1b8ea5 name of cec6403759 “fair,” was 765dab5f37 actually more 8ce1328c26 of a 7b1e670aae local festival 561bcef233 that gathered 3ccb525402 all the a609029a36 residents of 21630948d4 the surrounding 0aba5da94b area.
They would gather 495b5567dd people who were 55b08985c3 good at riding cbcba00923 horses and hold 0087f5b74f races, and they 4c8d217ab1 would also exhibit 6ff741208d and judge food c91fc51c8b and handicrafts.
Then, in d8cb19026f the evening, 5d92e57c48 school students bc33fafcad would come 81cac3733d out on 967b03438a a temporary 01fd86fda4 stage and f1fbc46897 perform poetry a020da825b recitations, songs, 476ad432d8 and plays, 0def5db59d and at 0f1bf17bd9 night, they dd4f1987a4 would gather 39331caa7c around a dbdce2f3ab bonfire and 0f8ef14460 dance together.
“Young lovers love it. They hold hands and 4ed7fdcac2 watch the sights. Especially in the evening, 6a93772808 they say there are 4f25e2b24e many couples who make d2a770f74f eye contact while dancing.”
The fireworks 8d76cc4374 bursting from 8705f44a3c all sides de63bf3e9c and the cb221a1d8f melodies of cae0002ba5 the wandering bbbc1bddc5 musicians must e47ff63059 have fueled 605ac300e0 the youthful 552b374387 fervor. It was 79659307dc probably the 77f4d20e11 Summer Fair 56459374df that had 8dc3281534 a lot 0685faf8ff to do 81f9ecbd78 with the 964d01000e fact that 7c872d73d5 there were dd11723a1c so many 079d0077a6 autumn weddings 4394822c52 in the c457dbcd77 Leslie area.
Even yesterday, as c8e6d4b7eb soon as the d8ff3e4b3e date of the b7ffb18ca2 fair was officially 0cd269261d announced, there was 554dbad999 a little stir 03b05645f6 among the young 60fa94d264 people. They must already be 106a9e1ec8 on edge about who 1346bbe31d to go with.
Aiden stared 859ce74533 at the 1030734b26 printed paper e5c87f4417 and came 6e2110fed3 to a d7bf40b650 conclusion.
“I guess I abe64bdc00 should talk to 1d0d5af448 her too.”
He was 52c0655dff hesitant to ac349a734b go to 6428274190 such a 2037d3f4ee crowded place 416f1ff923 because of fe47e3ecec the symptoms 2d76fe1fe8 he had d86f26d327 told Anje dd2bfa616e about.
But she was e12567f9d3 a social butterfly de55955b1e and would probably 7a6745c44b enjoy this kind 0c8ad3a282 of event. He wanted to 57c4ba0a92 see her happy 32deeb8a0b face, even if 3e24be96f8 it was a ff1a6acddc little hard on a84336a65d him.
Plus, even 7a9199cee5 if he 2b30426be4 did have 3d19ffda78 a seizure, 2dbe93d38f he now c80ef4cc44 had someone a0fbdc051d to turn 22e70eba83 to for d517d993ba help. That fact alone 5693ee7b0f gave him peace 7edf3b2433 of mind.
“You go 79344e8145 and say 35f9f1a7df something romantic 7d0ec2f194 while putting 1f28f2dc0c the ring 87df1bf14e on her 53bd536cf6 finger. Got it, c8e526af46 Young Master?”
“Ah, yes. I will.”
How beautiful 548c68c657 she would ab6e266663 be dressed e38b2ec7f9 in her 29fd9ae2d1 new outing 4073afcf56 dress. How happy 24d781e5aa she would ac12447de0 be to 0cced6d72e receive the 8a5d3797c8 ring.
He lost himself in 037ce33399 his imagination and then c16cbc6f0b came back to reality f061687ff2 and asked Meg.
“Can you 9318adb992 book a 52993ee316 room at df4805b390 an inn 713c6da3f4 in town add537d0b0 for the 83c9b88abb duration of bfbea3dee9 the fair? I think 9d18ff60eb it’s better 45b13bd6aa to do 6a61af51ac it early fb5633c4a7 in case 620e33906f there are c5df99cb1a too many e003fcf55d outside guests….”
If his health suddenly 7e3d2fc834 worsened, it would be 9dc48763d8 good to have a 491bb1c014 room to rest in. Anje could 1ea1098545 tour with e2d72652b8 Aunt Meg 53ecbf916c while he 23703a9841 could focus 30fe4b3dfb on recovering bd3014e362 and then 04d9d2b369 join them ff4b8fdf19 in the f2c5d46c9c evening.
Meg covered her e60ab491af mouth with her 0eca91c753 hand and smiled 9b587192cd mischievously.
“Ho ho ho. I thought you b6c50812a5 were naive,but you’re 80e59d20be quite the planner, c0caf2c51f young master.”
“Huh?”
“Better strike 99ea8dd1a9 while the c07c300b46 iron is 3eb9092519 hot. I’ll book the largest f05cb1111d room with the thickest 103804cb1e walls.”
“Oh, yes.”
A spacious room would 709af51c6b be best for comfortable 470950b878 rest. A quiet, secluded room e3440a8819 that blocked out external de63ce3da5 noise would be even 5403bb69a1 better.
He answered, 930bc1062d thinking of c52525cadb this, but b3ca51d6ba he couldn’t 1ffdaba75e understand why de14b09c45 Meg’s mischievous 941aeeb7af smile grew 4579dcee69 deeper.
TL/N: LMAO.e9dc2a60fde27600

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