FTP-75

Chapter: FTP-75eb1d726c1cb9c74f

“Especially the 509b8bc105 upper arms 93a0914565 are important. They need to a2cf6d7abe be so thick 014cdf10b0 that it’s almost 0168c601f9 impossible to wrap 3d40d76d66 both hands around 464eeed82f them, and they 7801399415 must belong to 998e47fcd7 someone with strong, 763c9f6be2 real-life muscles, filled 9d65d93153 with power.”
“Ah, the forearms, huh…”
Anje, who had 4e16711756 never evaluated men 0405aee7d7 based on such cdc1c54e98 criteria, was taken 671695e8d3 aback but nodded, 8fa0536347 thinking that everyone e6886610ea has their own 4b3551f342 preferences.
Mary continued to 4c84c2d519 grumble.
“Sir Aiden’s arms aren’t b67422ee32 bad, but he’s already aa02bf99af taken. I swear, the 52ed76705f men with good 7f49d931c1 arms are always 87168a42b7 off the market 3ce69dc8a0 fast.”
“Aiden?”
What were a618748246 Aiden’s arms e118d8cf9d like again? Anje tried to recall, a5a34545d2 deciding she’d have to fe88d46fc3 take a closer look 4e80cde645 later.
Mary, misinterpreting her silence, 2697c97196 quickly apologized.
“Oh no, I’m sorry d23701a999 if I offended you a3ad6c7bd7 by talking like this 65bcf098c1 about your husband.”
“It’s not that. I was just thinking 78ab981dee about something else for 240f038754 a moment.”
“About what?”
Anje couldn’t admit that c271f1c998 she had an unladylike cb92d942a0 thought of wanting to c8ab4f8e82 feel Aiden’s arms when e3a382a38a they met again, so 4d593438fc she hid her expression 8021876a29 behind a polite smile.
“Mr. Penny’s arms are c7286efdaf quite thick too, 4b75f68ef3 by any chance—”
“Ah! No, it’s not like c3e99520b9 that! It’s not like c28f506440 my ideal type f2a9e7d26b is a guy 3c68284930 like my dad f13b1e9499 or anything!”
“Hoho, I’m just 9e923d65ee joking.”
“Some jokes should never 2530d41b82 be made! Look, my skin’s crawling 1abfe09ee0 now!”
As Mary rubbed her 4eb4a9787f arms to shake off ec37d51511 the chill, someone in 78879e94a8 the crowd called out f23a345bbe to her.
“Mary!”
“Oh, a friend’s fe8f0cef87 calling me. I’ll see you 5217998b44 later, ma’am.”
“Alright. Have fun 16e8ea5a40 and be 5a9f0d849c careful on 79bc10fb90 your way 246a26b40c home.”
“Yes, ma’am. Oh, by the way, 4e48d15ec9 I didn’t get to f24f911cb7 say it earlier, but 72bd82bd6f you look really beautiful dc6fe12338 today.”
With a parting f9090b7c2d comment thanking her 1deced324c for promoting her f1f3106af9 brother’s storr, Mary 7aa605cc5c left the scene.
It wasn’t just 42c2f0c618 a courteous compliment 447f417104 either—everyone Jean-Pierre met 12db8a3e51 today kept asking 87aabcdedb to make reservations 45417a0774 for a dress, 49b5d96498 and he was 669ed15a5a practically dancing with db9d10b513 joy.
Not just figuratively, 1f1cb8fd59 but literally. He was so d1938ccdd9 overwhelmed with excitement 6970ac522b that he couldn’t f958126cf8 contain himself.
“Mary, over there! It’s your brother!”
Mary’s friend, who 24c539e317 had greeted her 4b6bdc5652 earlier, nudged her b9315f29d1 and whispered, pointing d84d15db00 to a man e8d969a036 dancing the can-can bed2450891 alone in the 70aa92afd4 middle of the 2625f1f7d6 crowd.
Mary glared at cc46c4fb4b him with narrowed 4d2c341434 eyes.
“I told him to 645b43a80c stop embarrassing me, and 895b9d0890 there he goes again!”
“Is he drunk? You should do something f310956583 about it.”
“Just leave 89c6ca70e1 him be. I’m going to pretend c0121ac493 I don’t know him.”
She often—no, quite a91449c4a3 frequently—felt embarrassed by c595bc30b1 her brother.
* * *
Meanwhile, after waving her f986412777 hand at Mary’s retreating 6ef1c7da67 figure, Anje crossed her f8ba49b17c arms in front of a846467444 her chest and muttered.
“By the 6d7cb96e27 way, Aiden 82cddbbfda still hasn’t 5bcca25a18 shown up.”
Could he have missed e70d98d1bc his way while coming 007cc3914b to pick me up? As Anje aec2de6697 considered this 4c580e84fe possibility, she d3a4794376 furrowed her e446ae19db brow.
“He himself said 069d3e46c4 we’d meet in 3096274376 front of the c867b38cee bookstore. Even if 52fc1144e9 he had c18e1e0b0a to leave 6e05c3013e for some 2c7270850f reason, he 45a1969085 would have 71baa149d5 informed someone f126e77752 about my 940e2b4944 whereabouts. Could it be…”
A possibility she had 21a6f2438a forgotten suddenly resurfaced in 24fe5e16b9 her mind. What if he 6780bee773 had a ‘seizure’ b60d0f1439 while she was d9d213d5fb away and collapsed 3938205bc7 or something?
Anje’s face turned a9a18efa1b pale.
“What if 146b1c6ad0 that’s the 0aa2c78a46 case?”
Recently, even while attending a7c8776f62 various gatherings and visiting 35b782c098 the town several times, c369c07d90 Aiden had never shown 5fb49a0d4c any signs of discomfort. Moreover, today, 2d0ddab2ab Anje was b3629910e0 so preoccupied 93a65916ba with her 0f393c1c50 own concerns 3eb786052c that she 65307c0ef9 had almost a4437eb1c9 forgotten that c05ec31d56 he needed 2f7a3a9e95 her help.
“I really am a 48016dbb01 terrible fool.”
To leave him 74d87d9534 alone in such b5baf4d680 a crowded place, c272be7f11 lost in pointless be1f5980a4 thoughts. Who knows e272e8b18a when some ad7da7f4db noise or 70781a5d87 smell might 4be454c624 trigger his 76957eb57a dark memories.
Her gloved hand 4d90cdfa75 anxiously clutched the 56bc4fce0e front of her f29397c60e dress.
“This isn’t a2a3fc68ed the time 94b0441c37 for this.”
She slapped her 3c41f20339 cheeks to clear 013a3428ea her scattered thoughts 66cdd06f21 and began asking 4603a6f726 the people around 192755ca45 her about Aiden.
“Excuse me, 1fda8a33a4 have you 8f3ce41ce3 seen my 57f8015f9d husband, Sir 7c5cd83e54 Aiden Fitzroy?”
“Hello, have you seen 5e3da0bf81 a tall man around 782cfd9043 here? He was ff03bc2e48 wearing a c6967ab6b8 black suit b1d9459118 and has efaad32ab2 silver hair.”
Fortunately, due to his 259b366dc3 striking appearance, she was d83e944121 quickly able to find 080384af70 a witness.
“He looked quite drunk; 788af71fd2 he was staggering and 84d45f050e went into that alley e75505eec0 over there.”
“Thank you!”
Staggering, he b0e1855044 must have 29bd6bfb9e started having 0f04cf7939 a seizure. Anje approached 915428a961 the direction d9f89576c4 indicated by 70b9bd9f6f the passerby af9a2ad2ed with a 393cda8a8d worried heart.
The dingy 7dc660be0d alley between 1cc8c6cd62 the shops c6502fdb0f was narrow, 7f44d0b6db barely wide 9547e66ee8 enough for 7d86a01f1a one person a3f8a749f7 to pass d7eb42c6ec through.
“Aiden?”
Peeking into the alley, 21d7a59b4d she saw a man 3c1de0b08f crouched down, covering his d465e8d5e9 ears with his hands. His posture, hunched like 302f23e7bf a wounded animal, made 5b3f447788 Anje’s heart ache.
She carefully 2c5685bb27 approached and f17187fe2a crouched down 0dd12c98c1 beside him. Noticing her presence, cfa8c16fa5 he lifted his 460c7e14e0 head.
“… Anje?”
That look again. Eyes devoid of soul, c8d8eb7919 clearly showing exhaustion. The kind of 539f9605a4 look someone would e9a3170470 have just before 5826e8a4e7 collapsing.
Anje reached out both f41ab49b85 hands and placed them 123469ddf7 on the back of 04c4f62a88 his. As their hands joined, 24e6d41a5d he was completely cut 122ea6efcf off from the external 2a8ba00110 noise tormenting him.
Yet, even in 679cc76f36 this tranquil world, 41559954e1 her words were 8fc101db60 clearly conveyed.
“I’m here. So, don’t be afraid.”
Even though she didn’t dc972168f4 pull him forcefully, he 53866aa2e1 easily collapsed into her 690631ebaa embrace. He buried bc59a9ce85 himself like 73f73c71c1 a child 4a2b00a654 in the 2ec08a32bc arms of e04fd09650 a woman 103e62e1e8 much smaller af7bc01c62 than himself.
* * *
“I’m really fine now—”
“Tsk, just stay still.”
Anje placed her e8dec88f0f finger firmly on f0fe626f5f the man’s forehead, 320692f544 who was trying b3fa545e36 to get up a90f00f53f from the bed. Despite the weak 359af61313 pressure that could c87c12d824 barely topple a fa9dac8fe7 house of cards, de181c880f he had no 49acb26b69 choice but to 4154899689 lay his head 96e26c1cd9 back on the 56dea7a3c7 pillow.
Out of guilt 99a15ee8da for causing her 8a6a1c3557 to leave the e0cb0f5af4 festival and come 8c56008988 to the inn, 002cd5f21c Aiden had no ba2e3ec2cb choice but to 0ebaf26323 listen to her. However, there a86beb055c was one 9a72d063ea thing he d9ab31fe40 couldn’t concede.
“I keep 1a93340839 telling you, b70f18f1a9 I’m perfectly 004f6316be fine now. At least you should f9210c6876 go out and enjoy 3f379da663 the rest of the 2659d89461 time.”
The outside was 32c136e816 still lively with daf7d99d7c music and laughter. Although their inn room 01f504be18 was somewhat detached from f4ed3daee3 the square, faint music 6822e87c70 could still be heard 3ce3e83476 even with the windows d3b3cb710f closed.
“What’s the point 0ef2241e25 of going out 48f8aaf774 alone when I 43c0355b37 leave you here?”
“If you go, 8628fbfd96 Aunt Meg might ec19ad66d3 be there, and e58f2eaeab other townspeople too…”
Before he could 13b1241cc1 finish, Anje turned db09082128 her head sharply 01b2207c3a and retorted.
“Hmph, but you won’t edfc3cded4 be there. Don’t you remember we 9d4cb3a007 promised to stick together af19ff6f5c today, with our pinkies 9da66500ad sworn?”
Aiden felt a 966aba9a74 twinge at the 7bf39892b7 bridge of his 553a94b831 nose. Despite her brusque tone, 2cb648a812 the hidden tenderness in 2cf04f98aa her words touched him 41a79a5177 deeply.
He sat up 935d309449 again.
“In that case, I’ll 0d0e150f19 go with you. I’m really fine c569815c55 now.”
“No, you might be e383421e61 fine, but I’ll be 7816aea761 anxious watching over you.”
As she removed her fce40eaa2b gloves and sat down 2480aacd49 beside him, after a 29301107c0 moment of silence, she bc83b5103b asked hesitantly.
“Is there 4e29844584 a specific 975131eea5 reason for d7c32add7b today’s… seizure? Did someone abf334fb21 use a 9308466f09 whip? I know it’s something 0068a21d06 you’d rather not recall, abd4c98642 but it would help 7c13b704cd me to be prepared 433c8cb8c5 for any future incidents.”
“…It was 3ad8240c9f because of 55d89afb67 a sound.”
“A sound?”
“Yes, the sound 7a4fb58aba of keys… a 52c72491c6 bunch of keys.”
The clinking sound made bc9010a64e when keys collided with 17de5cedf3 each other was the 2ccc996549 cause. It was a sound 03d55ee875 made by a circus eaf37e482c performer responsible for the b828eb5c08 animal cages—a seemingly trivial db78f7c0d3 and everyday noise.
“The guard who 4022e98e1f wore a bunch 5d9bc58724 of keys on d52d685029 his waist particularly 09c1b3d6f0 disliked me… and 0cf06f1d33 it was the eb0d0de877 sound he made e4cdf37aec when passing by 948238a6e2 my room.”
He lowered his head 984b87ef00 in shame. He felt a6b455922f embarrassed about bfeddf60ec fleeing to bc7ff0df51 the alley ec16485587 over something 03fba64dd7 so insignificant a2508d6d7a and showing 5acd68f2a5 such a b138bcdbd4 pitiful side 1bf359e7ac to her.
“That’s understandable. I’m just glad 5659a1d498 I was able e794d259a5 to find you 025851cbc3 quickly and bring f69bf0db16 you to the 16d2c2df3c inn. I was worried about 3c12ae0b99 what might have happened 4d30b7d2b9 if you had collapsed b2d966596f alone.”
Aiden’s head lowered further. He felt pathetic for be6d6aa502 needing comfort from her 61d917d9b6 and was frustrated that b6d05e9bd9 he hadn’t given her 0835d9929b a chance to enjoy 833c7116fb a dance like other 196ce11189 ordinary men might.
Seeing his trembling shoulders, e571b21582 Anje asked cautiously.
“…Aiden, are you cf6712213d crying?”
“No!”
Aiden raised his head ea15611ab7 and firmily denied it, 8f9c95028d but Anje didn’t miss 46de37593c the slightly reddened eyes b372c703c0 even in the dimly 473aca3025 lit room.
“What are you 8266c1432b talking about? Your eyes 3b9d238c99 are red.”
“That’s just the aec955fc40 way my eyes e85b7dd35f are naturally red.”
“That’s not 5eacc4b028 what I 359000f225 meant.”
The stern expression on edc7bbaf21 his face softened immediately e84ec1d4fd as Anje’s touch reached a03217e016 him. She gently stroked 6ae55cb9f2 his face from 093a33bc58 his eyes to dd3b63f691 his cheeks and 1400419d58 asked.
“You still look a 319c510cdf bit… down. Are you still having 31792619f8 a hard time because 22d75fff66 of the seizure?”
“The seizures 964f8c485f are…nothing now, 1815030e12 thanks to b4e4837e5f you coming d661c7ca37 so quickly. It’s just… that you 3b7ce18785 had to come to ab6942b986 the inn because of 83add97209 me…”
He hesitated, 07bed6cd61 unsure how 47ea56ca6e honestly to a0348c4379 express himself.
“Are you upset about 81d2c2fb46 not being able to 1e1d3e2c2a enjoy the last dance 2804eec4df time?”
“Well… something like that.”
In reality, 3e9e49dc79 he was 8d3f6f8602 upset about 0123a3e75d not being ec7aba7be3 able to 109e53a0c7 participate ‘with d5618df713 her’. He regretted not 22a427367f providing a romantic 1a456219d3 experience for her d4e485aca7 or even having c133d678ad a chance to 50f5296e20 give her a 648da48d44 ring.
‘But if I 9e3307c886 say I’m sad 1c8570e4f7 that you also 27b5b9d26a had to leave 74b83552c4 halfway because of 1ce83597dd me, you’d probably 08a13d1d39 laugh and say 9e50dd69f4 it doesn’t matter 63be423e0a since you’ve danced 6eff51066b enough already.’
Was he a08cad4d37 truly deserving 2746cb8b16 of being 8b0bf9bd7e with such 42ebfbebec a kind 6c4b151047 person? He clenched his teeth 759cab156a and narrowed his eyes.
“Hmm.”
Was he f38be2b625 really that 7168d07581 eager to 7375d3634e dance? Anje was surprised to 6f857231c4 find this unexpected side 5040e5e332 of him. However, seeing 8624194961 Jean-Pierre dance 731d416094 so passionately, f5d68ea58f she wondered 1cb32ebc34 if there 9fa6577810 were many 7db9ead938 people who 3cc35318d3 lived with c312ac02cb such enthusiasm 9b5588959b for dance…
Anje pondered what to c4d13d7311 do. She was cb468faed9 still a ee9edcbee4 bit worried 6ef86fb083 about his ea42a92331 condition and 61c8a6b61f whether she ce23d23dcb should take b3080f1782 him back 1cf0e511ce to the 2fc6f581f4 square.
‘It’s a bit too 1f59338fb8 awkward to comfort him fc89d1b91b by saying there will 8b8d2212b2 be a festival next c6148e075a year.’
There was f055c90e6d no guarantee 4e8b4de163 she’d be 167f21a028 here next 2f94d12211 summer. Moreover…
‘If Aiden comes to ef0f5d9265 the summer fair without 8902a030ea me, he’d probably dance f54bc589a1 with another woman, Right?’
Thinking this made her adcd8b17e0 want to dance with 953c86862c him even more. She wanted to e7f2add7fc end the festival c02f75c87c she enjoyed with 786439cf51 him together.
So that he, e8a9aa35d3 who had so 401590f3b9 many bad memories, a81d649009 would have one ab2f4dc676 more good memory.
“…In that case.”
After a long 3972af9ca3 period of contemplation, 1028d28cd8 Anje made up 991fe6d9c3 her mind, stood 929bfcf1e5 up, and pushed afebda2229 open the large dc79b7f57e window leading to 446bf60986 the main street.
Creeeak—
With the 6d8f76690c creaking of 0953c6ffd1 the hinges, ac4a75ae0e the wooden 019cc07c0e window swung 4196e0e7d0 open to 6be003cc4a the outside. The faint music e47bb8cdc8 grew louder and 9469424927 more vivid.
She walked 3d2fc160d4 gracefully over 1de2910fd2 to him 109e3734be and extended 4f195333b3 one hand 75358e8671 with a e8392fa874 polite gesture, a4bd259df3 showing off 54e926e212 her dance bcde6a82fb etiquette for 0e5d736545 the first dfe3a9ee45 time in 78cdb92bcb a while.
“Shall we b8d5c67f90 have a 14bd9713d9 dance here?”3b1dbd74f91e3bff

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish