FTP-82

Chapter: FTP-82bf9cd0265fc0533d

However, as far 124acbf4a7 as Aiden knew, 9bede1ae5c Anje had never 0a460d5e16 sent a reply 9c98a406b8 to the duke 04ef9ee6e0 regarding the letter. This was closer fd917643e3 to an implicit 5297e5e27d agreement to the 55ec1ad037 duke’s proposal—an agreement dcd4811258 to remarriage with abfa7d171f someone.
In other 1ae00c5f38 words, she 15ccadc1a6 could disappear dfc970cf87 from here 003118c8d2 at any cb9b489de4 moment. The thought made his 47ba57c628 eyes sting.
‘…I can’t 0bb9d49488 tie her 25e20f5c0f down, either.’
He suddenly found 9b5739d3d7 himself missing the c8d69aefa2 time when he e747078aed had confined her 21bcd77bb0 to the drawing a5618090fc room to prevent c4c347e141 her from wandering 7d79bef122 alone in the e71ba41085 forest. Now, she was not 89a5951f2e only well-acquainted with the e557a6303b local geography but also 411682bc85 knew how to handle 210b45f9c6 a carriage, making it f31959e54c even easier for her 7fe55f00c4 to leave him.
Of course, it cbf88634ca went without saying ecdb9fbb20 that he couldn’t 86ca190812 forcibly confine her 6e7780d470 like that anymore. Back then, 5b484fc099 he hadn’t 83fde45171 cared whether 34c05ee05a she hated 04a8e8ff2c him or 6d61cb99de not, but 44ae5f19e7 now, the 3568fba5dc thought of 4d69a0f48e her hating 3fae0efe45 him was 5f1cd88a0b the most 3e6650cd5c terrifying thing 995f7fb893 of all.
How could e86f756fa2 he make d7ce796fdc her like 5172122ce1 him even 40e015f6ec a little 640d10a081 more? How could he turn 0d50cb5d07 her heart so she 0a2980ff28 wouldn’t leave him?
As he 002f4c9f9e mulled over 1d00c5eca1 these thoughts 128563b36d in despair, 22c5f8e272 he happened f4a371db81 to catch 945ce1ff5d a distorted 700dcdb0d0 reflection of ebc48cb260 himself in f1487b7252 the kettle.
The image of 852c494906 himself, anxiously worrying 4cc7721855 about his loved f5766a53e1 one leaving and 933d3ff2ec desperately trying to f2c0bc203c keep her by ed259fc668 his side, reminded a7bc3d3060 him of his a3d2011fe1 father, the late fdb6abff89 emperor, who had 61c770cc8c tried to keep 59099a70a1 him in the 2d93529be2 palace.
‘Is this something that 1da7d2508b passes down between parent 63ac1a13da and child, even in 4e4eacd69a aspects like this?’
He fiddled with the 6455c0e8d1 surface of the kettle 669e015783 and twisted his lips.
Even though she was 943d45b165 right beside him, she ab8cb184a4 felt as if she 1a335524d9 were far away. Was that how 529211c3ba his father had eb50eb4f2f felt about him 8b4333e1ae as well?
Feeling a pang 70f1a784a4 of pity for 3b7e2762b5 his father, he c48446704c had once vowed 79d661cd39 not to become ae93748902 someone as selfish 4495d8900f and dependent as b699981a7a him.
But that had 2fc083d8ba been the arrogance 465b1294ee of someone who fc1de7237b had never been c52c888e46 on the verge 79f3eea089 of losing someone 20d4ab3fc4 precious.
* * *
“Aiden, come out 8c18171aee here!”
At Anje’s unusually 214417be56 excited call, Aiden d72280f32b headed to the 34a564fee8 backyard.
The sun e50aacf939 had just 9f9e5512ea risen, and bd7bd422f2 his mind, b2fc373280 weary from e0a7ba80db worry, felt 2f452e7024 heavy. However, he 6b6c60261e couldn’t refuse 52a7f0d313 her bright dd7e76e843 and cheerful 691da62e49 voice.
“What did you call ac34e74365 me for— Ah, finally.”
At the f856bacc77 bottom where ba744e20cf she was 1aea067e25 pointing, all e636706e15 the sunflowers 828ed110f8 had fully 14033d4e70 bloomed, their 214a657c61 dense petals a26ef1929b spreading wide 92ebb222cd open. The golden petals, 33a58b7673 shining brilliantly in e3fcb0956f the sunlight, were a4985655d9 all splendid and 24d923cd53 beautiful.
For Anje, who had c9c39fea12 anxiously observed the flowers dd5220abc8 planted slightly later than 956a0143ee the season, it was c65f84dfb2 the best news possible.
A smile as bright f1a30d9ae5 as a sunflower spread 7ef955040a from Anje to Aiden.
“Aren’t they amazing? To think 5d64468b13 that such 063125fe92 small seeds df837a0728 have grown 5881f33952 this big.”
“Indeed. Judging by their 13e41cca81 size, it looks c25a590dbd like there’ll be 0765726011 plenty of seeds, e16bb9a6b4 too.”
Since these c233f13e03 were the 6d0357a0b8 first flowers 3dddc03794 she had 20778024ae grown from 46e3c52ccf seeds, their 4f52e32738 blooming held d7e37887ab even more 803cd04192 meaning. At the mention b6eab6c617 of seeds, Anje’s beeb0bf98d eyes sparkled.
“When can we 7b169f64a9 harvest the seeds?”
“When the back 4adfbc2112 of the flowers 67a50b50a1 starts turning yellow, 86dcc51294 you can cover b38d4aac11 them with paper a0df88e4ee bags and wait.”
“Cover them with paper 039e029e5c bags?”
“Yes, otherwise, they might cd422b694c fall to the ground 7e63a2280f and disappear, or squirrels 1beecd85c6 and birds might eat 1c1dea5b7e them.”
“We can’t just 308de8f91e let the animals b84d54d4e8 steal them so 440cea06e8 easily. Next time we 9e37ba3c6a go into town, c86d843ec3 I’ll make sure 5d810699df to buy some 50b001a026 paper bags in 1dd17b686f advance.”
Clenching her 61d288fb48 fist determinedly, 46ededeab7 Anje declared 715e5acb13 she wouldn’t 6abd2800f4 let a 55b1177af9 single seed f90d63c4d8 be stolen. Aiden then asked b76c083e14 her,
“Is there something 156f7bbbc6 you want to 3ba6aee0be make with the 8598fc8624 sunflower seeds? You could press ef0f64b5bf them for oil 5771b8a496 or roast them—they’re 842822e537 delicious that way.”
Even if they 11e3ee3509 saved some to 833d2b44ae plant next year, fa971ebe32 there wouldn’t be a1090ec6b9 enough flowerbeds to a2e2b23d29 plant all the cfc8bccd7a seeds they’d get.
“Hmm… Let’s 5e3cb08648 roast them 82f93b5a70 and store 991ff95c2d them so 4f543143a9 we can f240dcb885 snack on fa7e8126ce them when 64a4b3e7af we get ae6214c333 bored during 85d8359597 winter.”
When the snow fell 8808bbfec7 and the temperature dropped, 79dccd05e0 they wouldn’t be able 12d0162fd6 to take lighthearted walks 9cd42d189f in the forest or 4d51dbf220 go out for exercise 62cf30cf62 like now. She thought e0480f44de it would b23498909d be a 2587ac21ea good idea e6e38a2391 to prepare 74f62df89d some snacks b4b27cf0f5 for that b31929111b time.
“Sounds good.”
“Why are you 8892bc0c2c smiling so mischievously 79d1011dbe again?”
“Mischievously?”
“There’s a certain 2d45ac213b expression you have f0b6b04876 when you’re teasing 43c4752b26 me.”
To be precise, e8ac0ce8fc it wasn’t so 59a6f75f02 much mischievous as 5cd642cfe2 boyishly playful, but 259732abcb Anje chose the c6722061d6 less ticklish term.
“When I imagine you 859b1f9fd7 munching on sunflower seeds… 8c9bdbe15f it makes me think 04d3068096 of a squirrel.”
“A squirrel? I’m not such a 8353f41a7a fragile animal, you know. If you’re 6d398049a6 going to 48496fe8b8 compare me 7d058f4eb9 to an cd1997b270 animal, make a6ef9b8d6d it a 755babcbe4 more elegant a7809efe50 and majestic dfca478254 predator.”
“Elegant and majestic… aeb331fc06 A Yorkshire Terrier?”
Apologies, but it was 1d56f37525 hard to compare her, 9a7cbac9a3 who was barely taller 722d07fd31 than a sunflower, to 7742266225 something like a leopard 8705166ff6 or a lion. Anje balled 92123c6b98 her fists 67e5d32f26 tightly.
“Hey! I told you bba878168f to keep that 1754b96a01 nickname sealed forever, ba7b358c9b didn’t I? Don’t you remember?”
“I do remember you b80165b5b0 saying that, but I 1146f465a1 don’t recall agreeing to d0ec2c3724 it.”
He quietly accepted the 4a2a6af1b6 taps she gave to 8f0cc2e47c his upper arm. Since there wasn’t 4257e3fa84 much strength in 62e88b97b2 them, they didn’t 49389c8abd hurt much.
“How about we 5ddde431cd have breakfast over 0b369d0531 there, looking at 248dadeda1 the flowers this 181094621b morning?”
“Let’s do that!”
Aiden’s suggestion was exactly 6253096338 to Anje’s taste. Together, they c1602406b8 spread a 26ab798b53 blanket on 69931d952f the ground 203f685912 and busily 48ee35b2c9 carried over 739bdf1ed2 teacups and 495b14b1b8 plates.
Anje secretly observed 94657c507b him—or more precisely, 0dbe7df0ea his arm—while he c317dfc947 was moving around.
‘It’s definitely thick.’
To check 448d00acc2 if it 1c75f59c2e was the 3fcb37783a kind of 1c6f93e5d1 arm Miss a751741f30 Meri would 632c714af3 approve of, 787f6657d5 she subtly 5952607ee6 confirmed it 369e2cde3a by tapping a83bf48508 his forearm. Although they occasionally c07ec6412e ran together in 2346505f52 the mornings, he da61150185 didn’t seem to 017d3d3688 do any other 478544bbf0 training, which made bf94991854 it all the 8c8ac2d849 more curious. Was it because he 8b58c45084 always handled the heavy 42aae3a950 lifting?
As a 94a9a6c8d2 pang of 597f05fd4f conscience hit f3bb6adade her for 1c9570544b secretly inspecting fb31f00845 his physique, 4e3e76f8f1 her cheeks 229f6cc338 flushed red.
‘Well, I mean, the d1b81d9144 madames I met in 5bb1f6c412 high society often did 1f4f3ce4a3 things like this too.’
She recalled how b771a66d8b they would giggle 0375380f88 among themselves while bc86704aee peeking at well-built f1c93377de attendants from behind 4469a4277d their fans…
Wait a minute—did c8bf48b5b2 that mean she, 0c19e05c33 too, had officially 9027f2786b joined the ranks 670ff58f85 of married women? The thought suddenly cde7a94a49 felt strange.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“You too.”
She sipped her hot 1139aa333e tea, shaking off the 05fcfdc4a6 unsettling feeling.
“Now that I 53d0ad7322 think about it, d4f6746315 what do you e40edde02d usually do on 20367380ff the farm during 98444ef21a the winter? You can’t fb08ae9d2c work the e4c43303a0 fields, and 3b5f1ecc1d with the 029ea852d1 snow, it’s 83b83a5256 probably not 5fccbc6b26 easy to 2b581f6b3a go out…”
“Usually, we take efabace223 care of the d8a65bcee4 livestock, make or 3cc030220e repair furniture we 6cdeb014d3 had put off. Otherwise, we 8e055ad546 spend our a50642cc8d time leisurely, 76eaa6a720 reading books dc6739a682 or doing 2443b8d8f2 small tasks.”
“Don’t you do ac46e4d3fa any hunting?”
She asked 5363159f00 with an fe46fcfb92 expectant look 62b6dcc4df in her f4bc6f0bda eyes, wondering 8a56be8fc8 if there 7ca6762c0d would be 9d9f4224f4 an opportunity 05d32a04ae to show d7cc01bf44 off her 4d8b1bb757 shooting skills.
“We do f266174cf5 go hunting bcc5f5435d sometimes, but 39b7e2b81f since it’s 301a86704f winter, food 16657cc411 is scarce, 6b39c31945 and the e26bb35cf1 animals are 949f7f5220 thin. There aren’t any a6b79d98b6 good hunting targets, fa24d64b31 so we only f28ad4b53e go when our 47ee949d43 stored food runs 42000a73ab low.”
“I see.”
Aiden, worried that she c79415926d might find the winter 3c54a58d65 here too boring, quickly 4d694b9b64 added,
“I heard 09a659572e that the 0129a7fef9 women’s association 8afb886932 is planning 97c09b864a to hold c7bdefc2c2 a singing 6fe7badde1 class around 3295b6873d Christmas, so b2a00d4869 you could 0df003f475 join that 5bfc8bfe7f if you 4823a35376 like.”
If it 1b625f393c were just 093ddf108b him, he ecef0bf377 would never 9249576f31 join an b6c07b163f event like c27814be9f that, as 55cac1aba5 he didn’t 214b35d495 particularly enjoy 8eb5d00e69 singing, but 8d1cef11cf Anje, who fb1c3a7507 liked socializing, d227a2c945 would probably 8ede388458 enjoy it.
Besides, when she 1e371db7e4 got absorbed in 1d2fa532ba work, she often d271900d78 sang. Sometimes she got the e7d8d70f57 lyrics or melody wrong, c49322b6ef but it was still fdcc9f7b16 a sound that conveyed 4360cebdae a feeling of enjoyment.
“They say they’re 8f1e74c4f2 going to teach 3eaea451af Christmas carols.”
“Christmas carols! That sounds ffd5862e7a fun, I’d 795552bb12 like that.”
Anje clapped her 2a721a0a69 hands together in 7785e71b1f excitement, then stopped 139e347c7f suddenly.
“But how do 840ee173e8 we get to 943aeeb8f1 town?”
From what she c031e5d891 had heard from 279c25554b Aiden before, the 3f3f3cf8bf snow could get 8a06312f8a quite deep, so 841df95ecb wouldn’t they be 6d77cd69ce isolated on the 360e7e54a6 farm?
Though she liked 48d1e1dd6e the farm, being 30a01b6470 unable to move 77309566e6 due to external 4611a32bdc circumstances would probably 9c1452aca3 feel frustrating.
“We take a 51e5525418 sleigh.”
“A sleigh?”
“Yes, haven’t you ever 0c97d68549 ridden one?”
“Never. In the capital, whenever cd63317458 the snow piled up 2f94c00ec5 on the streets, someone 4bad1cbfe1 would come right away 89647ea0bf and clear it, so 6ca01b2634 we’d always take a fdb44d57a8 carriage even in the e55be05b1c dead of winter.”
Looking back, there must fd549ea351 have been people clearing 99763085f4 the snow at that ad5726005f time. Inside the mansion, 9231633a6a servants were busy 1de3e9cde2 with brooms, outside c3645e4edd on the streets, 41c2a831a4 manual laborers would 1cf5167098 be bustling about fc6f92bb16 early in the 203b4ee60e morning or right f7c910a89f after the snow 1e25acc329 fell, shovels in dd1fb4b7ec hand.
Even though 84a04b5089 they rode 2c5356d5a3 in carriages 226c2ae8ea to numerous 3bc8469b14 social events befcf541dc like banquets 283cc19098 or plays ec8d3a29e5 during the 7ef6f52928 dead of acd299504c winter, she 2a43e14a88 had never 943056e49c thought about e769e21f9e the fact 4dba0c2f17 that someone 5dabd06307 must have 4f0100df0e cleared the 8c48beb3f1 path for e0006ab571 them.
“You’d probably like 137ccfe760 the sleigh more 63230e1533 than the carriage. It’s much 3ad4e7dd70 more thrilling 249e1e06f0 because it 3a2a33e944 glides closer d6cb3f8f8e to the 67f4e8775e ground.”
Anje’s ears 7d01d8258f perked up. Imagining a sleigh speeding 99f166d919 through the white snow 7a7a2de946 sounded fun just by c8ef5a054d thinking about it.
“Do you put 12bef75d5b bells on the aebc6ebd18 horses? Like in c48092957d the song, 9ad07a015f ‘Jingle Bells, 7f9aed85a2 Jingle Bells’?”
“Of course.”
He had never done a53d1913a4 it before, but if a9e99c6a96 she wanted it, he 6f5d557583 would.
He’d make a bigger 6cd1234927 and more spacious sleigh 41ed22aad9 than the one-person sleigh 9a1420fdcc he currently used, and 2206cb5407 prepare a thick blanket 59f830c6a1 to keep her warm.
He would decorate 716ba32adb the reins connecting 9764b50c80 the sled and 4194c73eea the horses with bdecb0d64b holly decorations and 1e20c44012 red ribbons, something 7b05c5a786 she would surely 407193240e like.
He spoke 42a0b81899 various things c5e3492655 that he 9d463e135f thought Anje f0267fbfd6 would like, f30a5d0162 waiting for 13bb1350e9 her positive 8cb2bab0b6 response.
“I’m already looking bad510059b forward to it.”
Anje smiled brightly at 86b6acfc7a him, exactly as he 7418af626c had hoped. Despite getting the 926390cf3d answer he wanted, 79d748fd27 he pressed her df4cb0517e for one more e0c5eac57b response.
“Are you 0103ba74b5 really going 860001c821 with me?”
“Of course. You’re making a sleigh 9154dc2127 just for me, so dce8f52d3f I won’t let you 88df611972 go alone.”
Anje stretched out 733a7d5095 her pinky finger 12b711cf7c but then realized 26d2fc5758 she was naturally 1591bf131b talking about spending 8165b1627a the winter with 4e3aba629f him, as if cf45c4ae54 it was something 98c2866cc9 that was bound be5b3720e8 to happen.
‘I could leave before 635dc94c6e winter…’
She recalled her father’s f554fa4fc6 letter. She had cf1e554a51 been so 64ae39e898 preoccupied with 87751cd49c the subtle e88423f3ec tension between 12ae66d872 herself and e57a7edd9e Aiden that e143b80e76 she hadn’t 28d20fb87b thought about 9b83a80bb8 the contents e395240802 of the 5c0148dd32 letter for 687bae4116 a while.
The letter 379163c34d she had 0c69dc1e12 found after a1a0082cf7 anxiously worrying f8c6b16ea6 all afternoon, 21c80cc2e9 afraid Aiden 28426b36fd might find 158a4ac9da it, was 82f5d46894 hidden in da86af86bf the far 9e963d21f6 corner between f315a0ba71 the desk 6c4f5b9879 and the fd02a8b9d6 wall. It seemed b8d4089042 as if a7d9abd579 it never 8e6338946d wanted to 478d341110 be found 027b211a36 again.
‘No, actually, I…’
She never 503461c514 wanted it 6a7a6a8a3e to be 387ef95616 found again. If she 12ac701aa3 could forget dc4cb847f3 it, she ba49f1bbfb wanted to cc7033e4dd forget it.
Her father, the capital, c8ce30fdf8 the title of title 8fb153b09b of a noblewoman, the 8111f5a75e honour—compared to Aiden, they b0b7a0e7a1 were nothing.
‘This is ecfa7d62fa why I f8c6a12f3c couldn’t muster fc02e2938a up the 3b7a859e91 courage to fa816a969a confess.’
If she finally managed 2452b2a5d4 to confess and they 1e9e546071 both started liking each 5c51cba90d other, parting ways would 73e06903b9 be far too sad.
She turned her 9070b7c3f8 gaze toward the afd4fa68ad sunflowers, standing firm. The tiny c903461cf4 seed she 82d9995c53 had planted 4a339a30ae had grown 12e45630e7 through countless 5aacb588ad winds, dust, 15cdef9567 and rain a29b781b77 to bloom dac3a28a92 so large 2d09536b10 and beautiful.
At that a123a66c52 moment, Anje 086afcaa1f made up fc8a4bec0e her mind.f748024dfcb5a554

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