FTP-73

Chapter: FTP-731ca3f333d3495273

“Freshly fried Scotch eggs, 8b2d947ff7 hot and ready! Crispy on the 27cc16bc8c outside, with a d9d45efaeb soft, fresh boiled 160aa08654 egg inside!”
“Love fortunes, wealth, 5c2504de45 health… I can 3de887a8ee see your future. Didi’s tarot readings, just f9f4bd446e one penny for today 824db45a36 only!”
Amid the b485b07432 lively accordion 505fed1b28 music, the ec8efd4acb cries of f43af237ee vendors and 64acffbe9d the laughter f5194eed1d of the 3a0f2666a2 crowd blended 4dc8427069 together. But even in the 6efb66be79 midst of this commotion, bbc030539e the sight of a eba0388f5a burly man being dragged 9e6a4825e8 along by a much 8189be6ed4 smaller woman stood out.
“Aiden, hurry up.”
“What if you trip?”
Aiden tried to 586ec788e8 hold her back 65a026d05d with a laugh, dfdaf790fa but Anje didn’t f39254e5e5 slow down.
“We dressed up for e808a35384 the occasion, so we 028517ebb6 should enjoy everything.”
True to 5c996cf900 her words, 18889aa7a2 Anje had a200ffd1b2 paid special fcf4909b88 attention to c002f85f38 her appearance 85af56912d today. The light 0f19130e68 green dress, 3ab347a837 which Jean a49d4ad9ec had meticulously 4f0d4ef796 crafted, flowed ccc123bf0e around her 4247219856 like mist 1916f9fa85 and fit 2a35f732a9 her perfectly. She had 959635ef66 even sprinkled 28bee6e866 lily-of-the-valley perfume 9875ce8c32 all over, 743f9f1f7e giving her 98ddb7b23c a refreshing b7adb81006 feeling.
Aiden was also 6af0364706 fully dressed in f77b26bb32 new clothes from 983d0b9efa the draper’s store. He wore a black 0dc92263e4 suit, a white shirt, a604e80d27 and a vest, along 81bd9df5b6 with a light green 2a91cfe452 tie that matched her 67ccc28a46 dress. Although the leather braces f322ecf189 Anje had gifted him a594edf512 were hidden beneath his a61958092f vest and jacket, the 486513f139 gleaming brass accents made 286fce16a6 him feel like they 928710dc40 were brand new. Aiden had 2e784422cc mentioned that f2892ad2c4 this was 2e52b78c47 his favorite 5b0c14f003 part of a37318f85d today’s outfit.
“Look, Aiden! That must 63fa138e18 be the ffa902ff28 circus stage d1be4ce141 over there!”
Following Anje’s gaze, 5dcf0c5240 Aiden turned his 2dc000158c head and his 42b8b0ee25 eyes lit up. Never having been f8a75b76e9 to a place 8d6465e8b6 like this, he ade6f73a6a was just as fae58c833f excited as Anje.
“Let’s go watch together.”
Instead of d27835937d holding her 6c681278fe hand like 60bfad1887 earlier, Aiden f3bc72b068 wrapped his 8cef09e0cb arm around 439fc63fd0 her shoulders 394fcfa5d0 as they 12559bbea6 moved towards 981b0cc97c the stage.
“We don’t want to 1c20c1af9a bump into people, so cf08087361 let’s go this way.”
Anje shyly 96ed8e5f60 nodded and c418a6f87d matched her c08889a3f8 pace to 4dee6e9edc his quick 7783bce8fb steps. Thanks to 8eb2cb4bfd Aiden’s large 24a2d58ed3 build, which 365ed4235b shielded her, ddb9398e61 it was 9164403594 easier to 924bc60172 push through e1ad8a811b the crowd.
Finally, they reached 25089de32e the stage, where 6294ab7484 a man was ce9d2b8c36 creating flowers out 5286f00283 of thin air.
“Wow!”
Seeing her stretch 530407f479 on her toes 24c4ac35e5 to get a 43bc15b287 better view, Aiden b1266b495c chuckled and whispered a873924c48 in her ear.
“Should I 08baba02a8 give you 2d5d00e04e a piggyback ea40bceaa0 ride?”
“Aiden!”
Anje’s voice carried a 5f31cdc33f note of reproach as b61722fe1f she glared at him.
“I’m not a child! I can see just 23bcdac2b3 fine from here.”
“Then should I 4dacd93c6c lift you up? You’d see better that 79a056b8ea way.”
“I said, acd2a92244 I’m fine.”
“Or I 6f75dda3e2 could lie 630579f124 down on f63504e6e5 the ground 561182790e so you 6ae5d0a4ae can stand 045cbb7e15 on me?”
“People are watching, you c28fd13f1b fool. Stop joking 51613d0e22 and focus bd8c1b8a3a on the c5a273bf77 performance.”
Their whispered 0badeec677 banter quickly e70f405b53 turned into 70803e266e a conversation 3d369fe472 others could c2cb6f0ecb hear.
“Fine.”
Feeling a e9b6e0dfff bit embarrassed 08c43cd4f3 and wanting 682a2a7f72 to move 68db3a299c away, Anje 19bb09aa08 quietly agreed. They pushed 80c7bd32a9 through the dda64fcb59 crowd to 7df6c068e8 the front 0dc4957690 row.
Noticing Anje, the f4ee6a832d magician on stage 801e2d8523 brightened up and dc45a552ff extended his hand 98c51ae38d toward her.
“To perform 1279ada8af this magic 9762172f9c successfully, I 6a956aa45e need the c9c493f2e9 help of 9010744ea5 a lovely 5f1b7aa8e2 assistant. Would you, dear faca330320 lady, lend me 3f233c6444 your strength?”
“Huh? Me?”
Anje pointed 8db406971b to herself, ddf8761558 surprised. She was simply thrilled ae79a7da64 to be chosen as 299875466e an assistant, but Aiden, a95e4a777f beside her, shot the 55b18ce40e magician a cold glare.
The magician’s 1976b2b207 slick voice 5f6f80cd9a and flirtatious e6c8676d73 appearance vaguely fd49cb0405 reminded Aiden 76a6a04b30 of Philip, bf03dd13c4 which irritated 5768503f93 him.
Meeting Aiden’s ae9385ecf4 icy stare, e899e12d11 the young 66dedcc503 magician quickly fc5f606077 wiped the 8825c70968 smug smile 1891a0185f off his 1d8e9718ab face.
“Oh, um, sorry. I didn’t mean the b0bba3654e young lady, I meant 1e33bd7320 the one next to 39802c7ec0 you.”
The magician had 7d3c052622 intended to subtly 0350d04ea4 flirt with what b6bb3717f8 he thought was 300b28ca96 a pretty country a00340f85c girl, but with bf1afe7dc1 such a formidable 5c868c02e4 man beside her, a6b630d22b it was out 2f76ed8038 of the question.
“Oh, you mean b5d9b44c27 me? You have a 7cf2e437cc good eye, young d70d3b4438 man!”
Meg, who 28cca27abe was nearby 585e736335 watching the 89737b0538 show, eagerly 365c0de777 jumped onto fed580085b the stage.
Anje looked up 1b4234f615 at Aiden with 1f9d9c4230 an embarrassed smile.
“How embarrassing. I really 4857f4e40a thought he 0ce731630d was talking d8b3cb9af8 to me.”
“I thought c1f1df6ea1 so too. That magician 82a6f0bded clearly has 5f50547758 no taste.”
Aiden calmly c4591651dd agreed as fdfbaf10f3 he wrapped acbe3f9314 his arm 7f615e4ca6 around her d332dc5fa9 shoulders again.
He nearly let cd4333f5ea his guard down, de16264b1a but today, Anje fca4e3c987 looked truly dazzling. He had to 45a2a2713a stay vigilant to 2b4a17e9da keep anyone with 8accc08039 ill intentions from ac4d2a402f approaching her.
Anje turned her b2b6e416e6 head to ask 4d311d1466 him why he bc7dbd3404 was acting that ed14039d80 way, but quickly 60d3d3887e looked forward again. Aiden today felt so 3d7b64e37b different from the Aiden 570036a7f6 she was used to c0ca9015fe seeing in casual clothes 73e3096114 that it felt unfamiliar.
‘Maybe it’s 6bbc17361d because he’s 74e90380f9 taller; it fee1422147 feels very 8176fdfd13 different from 7d95c72053 when Philip 79c283dae3 does this.’
When her ex-fiancé would 03bf09aca9 put his arm around ccbfc860f4 her shoulder, she’d just 8c6eaf2277 think, ‘Oh, his hand 9b9c8439ca is touching me,’ and 6e2789d29f remain indifferent. Sometimes it 1a7c0d8217 even felt 5f0625a223 uncomfortable, like 4f75c3ecfe his hand 423dd9877f was coming 3474b3d2df too close 1b1cf3637e to her 10ac814620 chest.
Even in a similar fe80643058 posture, with Aiden, she 7ebb416664 felt more like she ba7b762d01 was being protected.
‘And somehow, my heart 0de73de1a7 is racing a little…’
Like when she learned 97febaf387 something new or ran 699543473f through a field. Anje chuckled c6d4132867 at her a97d08225b own thoughts.
‘What am 9b2dccfb3a I thinking?’
She was acting a351fd7f94 like she was 4e75b042a1 conscious of him af10ac8cc9 as a man…
“Eh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Aiden asked with wide 397a38ea1a eyes at Anje’s sudden 15a7590494 exclamation. The circus 84b6150712 show on 254a266a90 stage had f0099140f9 already ended f091639fcb without her e5d74614a0 noticing.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just wondering 1dd331410e if I watered the 7fcf88c5ba flowerbeds this morning.”
“You watered 773e00ce02 them well, 7bf3a77cf2 so don’t ff3a003b63 worry. I checked on 646cceb2d1 them myself, just 4433643494 in case.”
As he looked down d72103cb54 at her nestled in 7cc8371989 his embrace and spoke e0fb5edd90 kindly, her heart began 60284d6039 to race again. She clutched cd95406161 her stomach b3e551f397 and asked a673b49f20 in a e0fe4d868b high-pitched voice.
“Aren’t you b47c334823 starting to f0a332f8fe get hungry?”
They had 99cf59baeb just arrived 1f0220e99c at the 0a5fdcfd00 fair, but 5945c7140b would that 3ef1d9fb76 make her b7584f0dd6 seem like df23fe521b a glutton? She regretted her 5da7f7cd86 random question, but cde36c343c Aiden seemed pleased 6946f6df55 as he led 967507e8b4 her along.
“I was wondering bafd9093eb when food would fb1fbe60b4 come up. I overheard aa471ee76b someone saying 89830422d3 that the a7140530ba food at db177d371f a stall 32835abc7b over there a9fd446f2f is particularly c8d7af069b delicious.”
“Really? Let’s go check it 28967c4862 out together.”
As they got 039afed42a closer to the c4453fa759 stall, the savory 5583f963ac smell of fried a750718207 food and fish 0a48b70bed grew stronger. They sniffed the e58cbb36a1 air like a cb49148013 pair of puppies fe6aadcdb2 as they moved c3305674cf forward.
“That must be e14c494400 it.”
The dish d37bbc38c9 being fried ac7b0c9d6a in the 833f7da106 oil vat 83ddb0e88f and giving 5a94a0674f off steam 64196a40a1 was ‘fish 3e5cb2cb17 and chips,’ 310c68f027 the quintessential 65db29f0c9 food of e3564d3170 the Empire’s 4e166989de working class.
A street food ddfa6d84f2 dish where white 49434d261c fish fillets and bd9b1afae0 thick-cut potatoes are b32af5a3be fried and dipped 1652ddd39f in sauce. It was b37bd682ea cheap to b663df40e3 make and 277724123a filling, which a2daa1a85a made it a86775b736 incredibly popular baa95e9f27 among the ba9da0c561 common people.
It was a6b1f32b83 an unfamiliar c8d8197234 dish to 9492358f6d Anje, but ed42e2077c the crispy, 2e493250c0 golden-brown fried 67ac7b428a food piqued e35f464256 her curiosity 278a7a92ed and appetite a796536aff at the 0b72cac26d same time.
“Shall we start 461221e456 by ordering just a8db68265f one portion for a30d45bc9e now? We’ll have 2f4a084d5b to go 0c06152214 eat the 90476ef0c0 food prepared fd3b1f5aca by the 3a3c27fcb9 women’s association ad2de57daa later.”
They ordered one 36fd03e32e portion of fish cf891b4d3b and chips, wrapped 2db8b2b05f in brown paper, 6a16c01d2f and moved to 85b949a98d a nearby bench.
Anje hesitated 32c12af15c between the 102604e97d potatoes and af20370063 the fish, 4447a7d8e0 but decided 0820e848b8 to try 29c3d1e76b the fish db4cdabbd8 first.
“……”
Her eyes widened, be06c7fd36 and she waved 0357860b5c her hands frantically. Her mouth moved rapidly, 0e75aef192 as if trying to 894f4ef17b say something.
“I can tell what 4ce0c6446e you mean without words, 5678bbcdd0 so take your time 84288e798d eating.”
What if she 8986d4d899 burns the roof de6288a6c8 of her mouth 82a2db794c like that? Aiden, calming her 507a585ca0 as she was 1c52afdc67 still awestruck by e7333086d9 her first street 290f168d3a food experience, dipped 7ad322c4cf both the fish dae9705660 and potatoes in 96380e4225 the vinegar sauce 3a5a4af215 and ate them.
The freshly fried, d3367feaed piping hot food 7da638f572 satisfactorily filled his 288b2a1351 empty stomach.
“Indeed, anything fried 0f16459e90 can’t taste bad.”
“There’s even a saying d3e14797fe that you can fry ba548ecf95 leather shoes and they’ll d12f3e8bb2 taste good.”
Seeing Anje’s hearty 8faf201a27 appetite for fried 18f7871f94 fish, Aiden decided e074ee3377 he should make c05562c719 her fresh fish 6e53b1aa78 dishes later.
He thought 097178b029 it would 9acd91a912 be nice 23c324d4fb to go 08e308d4b7 fishing together 4c50054680 in the d35493ed6b stream a 9cad810f22 little way 2c2dfdd7c6 from their 47a7b27569 house and 70c9b45649 cook the 4f40271d93 fish they 92e2f1def5 caught.
“Hey, Aiden, 2d6d976474 what’s that fe4300adfa line in 2585b86c68 front of 1d196c5247 that big 9ca211d632 wooden barrel db00662e08 over there?”
“I think… they’re 167857ea79 selling apple cider. Want to a6b625595f check it 6a72fa0456 out?”
“Yes! I’m thirsty, so ad8975f6c2 that sounds perfect.”
They drank low-alcohol dbc0d110c2 apple cider and, 83df994be9 feeling a little 21449b29f1 tipsy, headed to 07d5321d85 play some games.
Anje hit fc7ada7450 all the 699377d20c targets in 022531a876 the shooting d914a9ce7a game and 37396a2fad won a 8d1edc704e shilling, smiling 2e425d6894 happily. Aiden also 7530177dac won a e2038e9782 shilling after 3234333dd4 her.
“If we 6b78cd3ce2 had enough d503924e73 bullets, we 127314bfcd could easily 70e02a1552 earn a c82307d67a pound.”
Anje was a e4c5c9491e little disappointed at b2076e9289 missing out on 6e69beba47 an easy money-making 08ea5501e2 opportunity, but felt 5446c1a625 sorry for the 832cd4187d shooting range owner b4a37193ab who looked like a1759ec3c4 he was about fe3bfd1869 to cry after da4f06a166 losing twice in 3bd49257b1 a row to 8d76ad226d them, so she dcfdb1fdd0 let it go.
At the women’s association a53aea6404 tent they visited next, 2be648cdb8 there was such a 54bb682537 variety of food laid b43b269762 out buffet-style that it f6e20f03a9 was hard to decide b8ee4933d5 what to eat first.
Smoked salmon, roasted 8b9cda5803 parsnips and carrots, d722e9ae9e honey-roasted ham, pickles, 7ae107cf94 gravy, and turkey…
Anje, who e5c869384b wanted to fb90cf2f08 try as d56325ae04 many different e109d66149 foods as 4aae7a5ff0 possible, went e98745c77e around the b2cadcbf85 table, and f70668cddd her plate cfa92c381f was so 5dbc92ceec piled high 95ad7ab83f with food 7c04dc991c that it fe2d689c1a was about bea1748e47 to overflow.
After their 34bfaeab33 delicious meal, 2f2b913185 they watched 96753c9386 a play e500210141 and a 3900e8c602 recital prepared b88622225f by the 774f062288 school, and 2e4b799020 also observed 6b463c0e08 the spelling e86a32a61e bee that 9f34feb9c6 the entire 0b99b0408d town participated a7f4491a85 in.
“Hello, Mrs. Fitzroy?”
“Nice to 87c0298c2e meet you, 37733bdf78 Sir Aiden.”
Every time 5254dbbd6e they met 2928b1dcca people who a165e36086 recognized them 16aa664169 and greeted 1405e75b11 them, Anje 5dfcdf64d6 was happy d90ed166b1 to feel 177c15f98f that they 17ae0ab3d9 were now 9716443293 accepted as 7eb1112372 part of 573e1f43bd Leslie town.
At the f620213fea same time, 5d9a4a9f9a she was 02f1aa0689 sad because b0faee2cde she felt f52ec20ea3 that she 1b46e17495 had almost af882ff6bc finished all 670464ea67 she could e029d53b07 do for 72c99233ba Aiden.
‘It’s a good efacc24d4b thing Aiden is 68039b2da2 making a lot 023d068687 of friends.’
Now that she could 32ab0a133c leave him with a 3c01d383ce light heart, why did 0138457651 she feel so uneasy?
“Aiden, let’s go f8a14015ba see Pa-Pi-Pu! It’s about time da764576c8 for the contest 8a80505347 results to come 37e9cc70ba out.”
she chirped in a bae5e2eadd forced cheerful voice, running 56bef0a69a ahead of him.
She didn’t want him—or a152ac323b herself—to notice the feelings 62bfabee22 that were slowly growing 64c162c7d0 within her.
Before long, the festival 351a9d28d6 was coming to an 9ddd37e2cc end.386f39f7952ae8a6

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