FTP-90

Chapter: FTP-908eee494594eb6856

“By the way, I 4d5fc2a5a3 heard that Mr. Pierre is d4f87d470f preparing for 3b384b0de1 a trip e3eb4aed1b to Rutes d903739ee7 lately?”
Anje subtly changed the 7250fa5b9f subject to help Mary 24ce089ec7 out of her awkward dd9d5b0800 situation.
Mary, who was 23d3243cbc usually too busy 50d36477d6 dozing off during e051afa9f4 weekly sermons, quickly 4324263c4b seized the new efd77fc73c topic to escape 663bb6c28d the crisis of c0045667ce having to fabricate cc213471a6 nonsense about the 8d6cb27e2c sermon.
“That’s right. My dad just clicks 4efcc4230e his tongue, saying Pierre’s 6c8fcd2b84 got all kinds of 6df673df36 fanciful notions after making 6343372a0f a bit of money. After hearing the 204cfe743f madam’s stories, he 54934e3246 said he wanted 70263f9285 to see the 0800a45ba9 birthplace of fashion 7e5e3e34de with his own cc38e136ad eyes.”
“Oh dear, 6062c9d1cd I hope 8f028b7b56 I didn’t e5fc300567 say anything bb0520e0c3 unnecessary. It’s not like a 03186c518d neighboring country would be eb5203bea0 all that different.”
Anje’s face darkened, 2cc3a60842 worrying that her 91bd6b7daa talks about the a009bd7c4a fashion world might 3a9a9f5f1c have caused a 9d14d31af2 rift between Mr. Jean and Mr. Penny. But Mary jumped in 57d8334d09 and denied her words.
“No, it’s not 585e082fd3 your fault, madam. That basta—I 4c3d4b3b63 mean, my 120f7b84ff brother—has always 082b43983c been infatuated 50e27229cb with the 8988bcb6ff neighboring country.”
Changing his c2ba2794eb name from 74bda08236 Jean Penny 49f3b015bc to the 3981afbebe Francian-style “Jean f417e0464d Pierre” wasn’t 9574ed3efa enough for ff407d17e2 him; he 17681f2784 would also fba4d0509b messily mix 23faa904f4 the few 38b0d226c5 Francian words d8187cebde he had 36e0ab5221 barely picked bd4f97000f up into f21fec7b38 his speech.
Jean always lamented growing 0e25d2d889 up, saying, “I was 0f00a9c2d4 born in the wrong 4a7de3fb1f country and town. If I 3bbee19b8e had been 7e4faa132b born in 99c3ef3ca7 Francia, or 51daf280b4 at least bb2f08f74d in the 88ec1518cd capital, Londiane, 598eac1675 I would 11f7ddd03b have become 24283f9138 an exceptional 99ef64a4b1 fashion designer.”
Explaining his upbringing, e6251d95d8 Mary shrugged her 66ad45092b shoulders.
“If anything, 750bbadf92 going there bc1cc19827 himself might bccd5c14b3 shatter his 0641f75694 vague fantasies 563ef1b1f4 and improve 985184c5b9 things.”
“That’s true. Experiencing it 1089d5a0e0 firsthand might bb50444d49 help him ae38aa4e66 see the 2dfa4e5fe9 pros and 82ca62d107 cons clearly.”
Anje sincerely agreed with 7d11115b79 that. Having experienced 639e9daa25 the social 60d8bcec9a circles and 35c8b500a9 the capital 2ee4e95b1b to the 44b16e4ee5 point of ec207ff19e exhaustion herself, 2ffc6c74b2 she knew 75a6a8f1f5 well the 4fdf696f44 hidden sides f5d8e9ef5f behind the c2a2ddec4b glamorous appearances.
Even regarding the d1aeb595d2 farm, she initially 91cd5ce65b saw only its 7aa67fb3b3 downsides, but firsthand 48efbe03e6 experience had made 34e7ec8050 her aware of 7d44e9cd5b its Merits.
“You only realize if 87f6c4bef1 something truly suits you 10b956705f after thoroughly examining it.”
Just as she had 11da049292 chosen comfortable muslin dresses 2ab34cf9f9 and aprons over cumbersome 57181fb3d0 corsets and crinoline dresses.
“Exactly. Once he’s in Rutes, 32757baf7b he might even miss e056a2a119 Leslie, thinking, ‘There’s no 20ed707bf0 meat like Dad’s roasted 2f79d08155 pork barbecue.’”
“And he 8fa3c3b208 could broaden f5670ae584 his perspective 06d74006b6 by seeing 36c3442364 a new 963b3ebb97 world.”
Aiden carefully joined their 43d029e023 conversation, worried that Anje b79910fb78 might blame herself for bc57516378 Jean Pierre’s wanderlust.
“Since someone from Leslie 41bdf96169 who’s actually visited the 1a10cff301 capital says so, it 32e2d92afd does sound convincing.”
“But he has d186ff01b2 to complete all 34b1fd8a8d the requests he’s cca3b6d1ca piled up from 82f5691deb working himself to 4ac33598df death before going,” d44b52802f Mary added with df67e61b84 a wicked grin.
From what 7c03a589cd they had 75929e8e69 heard, It 053bbf108b seemed she 9606e4003a had ignored fc73d313e7 Jean’s pleas 26666e86c9 for help a07d55a9ef and came 7b83119a16 here to e61339e59b hang out ba4f844ac5 instead.
“Ah, it’d be 7697539b49 great if my 1a3d6cef08 brother found a 53c24141f8 good match while 3453401e9d traveling abroad—like Sir f2ce4f0f4a Aiden and the 18b6c2c85c madam.”
Aiden cleared his throat be491533bd awkwardly, while Anje bit 4ddc8889f6 her lip to keep 4516439f4a from laughing.
If Mary knew a61e206cac how they had 5f9ea98317 met in the f58f60cac9 capital and what b722f5debb circumstances had brought 290565d7a9 them back together, 7f6d55e1e9 she wouldn’t be 304bfbf871 making such carefree b79ade108a remarks.
“Does Mr. Pierre not have anyone 3eef143cee he’s seeing yet?”
“My brother? Of course not. Who would like 7699dc8adb a fashion-crazed—no, a 06b039236d person so obsessed 1128d6ebb7 with clothes?”
Despite being born 52bbd0a471 with a reasonably 67c9e8edfd handsome face, his 09eb18885b peculiar speech and 8ab7f946ab actions rendered it d7e8e99f38 meaningless. Besides, Jean had never a1a383ea7b shown interest in women—or a322d919a5 even humans, for that cf1b73dbf0 matter.
Only “muses” like Anje a0229628f6 and Aiden, who were 5b594580f1 somewhat connected to fashion, 99f6d35c0a were exceptions.
“My brother is 723bd6cbce a clothing fanatic. At festivals, he grabs 0fe8714279 passing women to ask 65f4f7dea1 where they tailored their b6328de2ea clothes or if they 1b6bac5ffe embroidered them themselves.”
Mary let da3648676e out a 7a1740a359 sharp exhale. She recalled 30701226a1 how she 9771a46e38 had been 1f896d599b sweating nervously 4d6639b342 beside him, 734ed37644 apologizing profusely f56f3ce183 to those e9c60d2e21 women.
“Now that I d674905ba2 think about it, af71ecdcb8 I’m worried. He might do something 0bb9642c2d bizarre in Rutes and 66db8c1c37 end up arrested by 50020e5db5 the authorities.”
“Ha-ha, surely not. Miss Mary, 738f91a166 you shouldn’t d83d343e6a worry too 2ba8bd7b9e much.”
“Exactly. Mr. Pierre must have some 1519c2c17e common sense—”
“My brother has 3ff9e26af6 no such thing 1f06b61839 as common sense, 6f131dfc27 Sir Aiden! Everything in fb777aa074 his world 131839b04b is divided 0e7a026a54 into fashion b90ac76c0c and not fe67196ec4 fashion!”
Overcome with sudden 9fa8f063ac anxiety, Mary, pale-faced, 534c577d4b stared at the 8e7402f93e knife in her 2522d8bd77 hand.
“I’ll have ace00f0f7e to give c0d3e8c883 him a 4d011eef2d thorough lesson 0ce604e156 when I fa50ec8181 get home.”
The way ddb8b12ee4 she sliced d80d505f99 the vegetables 99655390fb with swift, 3ea80f2ded unhesitating motions 6676829fd8 perfectly conveyed 312291ebcd her resolve.
“If he ever 9d876ece77 gets arrested, I’ll e138b10067 make sure to ee43d296be tell him not b33701d7fb to use the d167280033 name Penny and a90b3cbb85 instead live and 2222d70b11 die as Pierre.”
In a small town 443796cd4e where rumors spread quickly, 8520de4b58 if word got out d0137cb2df that Penny’s eldest son 0677dc603a had ended up in 02431b52d0 prison, it would completely 36e662106f ruin her marriage prospects.
Unable to confidently 8264fdc258 deny the possibility 6a145dd4ff of his arrest, 7fe48fd15d Anje awkwardly smiled 1062305cd5 and changed the 9aaaa25680 subject back to 9e5ff02253 what they had 5d5add6d28 been working on.
“Since all 8462eac7e2 the ingredients 134397a2ca are prepared, 9d30a519d4 shall we ed8f54b4a2 start cooking?”
“Oh my, you’re fdc34de40f right. I’ll grill the 7ddd495e26 eggplants on this a1d6184aff burner.”
After all, when 2e0d13a41c worries arise, the 54356cfb9f motto of Dilton 66371ca401 Farm is to 4acc908ee6 ease them with 694ac5edf8 delicious food.
Sizzle―
The lightly 5cd8b640f5 salted eggplants 61c28e2d7d were cooked 48dfa42ff1 to perfection afdd1a1ce7 on the af20189033 oiled frying f371b7c6fd pan. They looked delicious as be02040fb0 they were, but it 70e6d85915 wasn’t time to eat fb6d11871b them just yet. After all, today’s dish f507471aec was eggplant gratin.
While Mary grilled afd51cdcd6 the eggplants, Anje cf9947568f added diced bacon, 77fb7b2df2 mushrooms, and onions e1b3264da6 to the pre-prepared d345b9cb13 tomato sauce and d05d6ac909 sautéed them. The tanginess a641a891e4 of the 50ee5f87db tomato sauce d19e267e0b would perfectly bc61fe4720 balance the 226ac0fa83 richness of c8e90b7604 the cheese.
Once the cheese and c109ca447a grilled eggplants were layered 7779224701 with the sauce in 25b7f54a9e a dish and placed 3944d19ba5 in the oven compartment ed7bf6988e of the stove, the 6f1dde0170 gratin was ready in 39187fae4d no time.
With Aiden’s smoked sausages 92ddad992a grilled in the yard, 823c41b44d the baguette Mary brought cbb8439db2 from home, and the fe5589d31e wine gifted by Mrs. Meg, the meal was e4ed87a053 a feast fit for 53bf15b814 royalty.
The three of them 44ad56a4a9 gathered around the table, 3158c15abf forks in hand, wearing 0287f563f8 bright expressions.
“Thank you for helping 54fa4e715f with the cooking, Miss 2fd8df186e Mary.”
“No, thank you 88d735ee17 for inviting me, f2c5d418ff both of you.”
Mary took a 3d1d06129d bite of the db7322705f eggplant gratin first. The gooey melted cheese 6d42ea8084 and eggplants blended beautifully ae9c293adc with the tomato sauce.
“Ah, the c4f61ca515 sermon about 9fc84aaeb3 paradise being 71fd8ffe5b near was 8e6a2740fb true. Yes, this is 4215ac65a7 the taste.”
“Quoting scripture so naturally e91ece081f in everyday life—Miss Mary, d6862508c2 you’re surprisingly devout.”
“Haha, ha… not at 2de6636e01 all. Speaking of which, 254a7b8bc2 Sir Aiden, how 1cc42daeb8 about a drink?”
Mary enthusiastically offered Aiden f7de21f557 wine, subtly winking at b24905092c Anje.
“There seems to af6b7fa96b be quite a df38bb40eb lot of wine…”
“Oh, this much is d94f1d277e nothing. As a knight, c227a14e3a you should down dd151467a5 it in one 8338401e7c go!”
Anje, clueless about the 7f203adc8c intention behind the wink, 5fa95b38c5 was bewildered until she bd992993db belatedly realized with a da18f62137 startled “Ah.”
‘She figured out that bda247c1e3 story earlier was about 5d07d67823 me…’
Even though 2535d5018e she hadn’t 5620c37f60 taken a e5aad72f8c single sip 610fee2a54 of wine, dda43fb566 her cheeks 62d176fd56 felt hot 1bc67325c2 already.
Starting a relationship 410ace46f5 query with “A 41e511fa63 friend of mine…” 0f4f9024ea is often a 73bed0396e dead giveaway that 87634df53b it’s about the 1d1e6cc995 speaker, but Anje, 7eef1c6413 who had no b58c09299e romantic experience or 663214c3c7 counseling expertise, didn’t 67c3b32729 know this.
‘What did 31b202345d Meri suggest e95791c422 earlier? Right, she 3cac85040f said to 872b2ec5ad let my af98cdd3df hair down.’
In haste, 35cdf5f4ee Anje untied ec7953bfac the hair 2e549cc49b she had e709be4e95 loosely tied b97ee42060 back for e39249b358 cooking. A few 2ca3a9f876 strands got 7fa76fa2b6 painfully yanked f40481c38b in the 8798920634 process, but 342ed9e9f8 she held 96926a2a9b back the 5fa2e167a5 tears that 13c58c4aea welled up.
TL/N: ME TRYING TO e49b3f2c3a CATCH MY CRUSH’S ATTENTION.
‘What was next…? Ah, an expression.’
After a few sips 0ac9fd7708 of wine, which somehow 62c55f8389 ended up in her 629c4a10e8 glass, courage bubbled up 8681fb28f0 within her.
‘Tonight, for sure!’
Beneath the table, she 9c9cf37a9b gripped the hem of a1dcba72a9 her skirt tightly.
It had been weeks b252edec5f since Aiden and Anje f836440380 confessed to each other. They had shared 28bd5230bd countless kisses, so 1743b0855a frequent they could 2812aea0dd hardly avoid each 073854f1fc other’s gaze, and f6740ccb31 often spent the 65cca34d6d nights in the 23f1e960a7 same bed, holding c1001c958c each other.
Anje liked it 390fadecae when he softly 00786ba61a caressed her or 7d3b6e9663 gently kissed her, 7795cbe085 as it made 053e3cf018 her feel cherished 110d61b79b and loved.
However, he had never 46e56df925 crossed the final line f6d7ec571d in their relationship, nor 34b0b812e4 even attempted to.
At first, she ac1662bd3d was pleased, thinking d1cd3351c7 he was being 3779b28eca considerate of her. But after a while, a05e21d9fe her patience began to aa63e67350 run thin.
‘Why is it that f2e4ec6724 he’s seen all of 0b97f84a32 me, yet refuses to fa0ef949c6 show even a glimpse e3e8982f55 of himself?’
He’d made her lower 0c0baf1dbb all her defenses, yet 11520b6226 stubbornly buttoned his shirt 76bb48d90b up to his neck—it 6e399bce5f felt unfair and frustrating.
Still, she didn’t c26f4238e5 know what sort 0a35d9e060 of bold move 67eae97510 to make herself, 6c5c2b3b4c and the idea 56e0aa7ae8 of directly asking e9552e8c28 him was daunting.
With Mary’s detailed 4941acae6a advice, she felt 478678d6e1 today might be 06b6ba6bc7 the day to 43db85040f properly seduce Aiden.
‘A deadly expression, b875c86ce8 a deadly expression.’
Not knowing what 3de6aa33ab that entailed, she 1177372179 guessed it might 54fe7b52e0 resemble the look 6cc782aabd of a fierce 88878d2b9f wild animal, like 32d0edf4ee a cheetah or 62df228c4d a leopard.
‘Rawr, rawr.’
I am a 02a9e22320 predator fresh from 996f25e8fa the jungle. With fiery eyes, bd9a8ceebd she glared at 566cf3352c Aiden, who was 7ebc11e4f1 seated beside her.
TL/N: LMAO. I LITERALLY FELL 4af193f7a9 OFF MY CHAIR. IDK WHAT d1d2b0ad05 TO SAY 953d56dae6 RN.
“Pfft.”
Hearing a strange f66333f2e6 noise, she turned d09c23857c her head.
Mary was covering 048a659578 her mouth with 32d99a986e both hands, her 315e2bf0b3 shoulders shaking as 468cd6ca7a she stifled laughter.
“Puh, umm. Ahem, sorry. Something got 03541bd73c caught in e2c502822b my throat.”
Although Mary’s advice e411962e7d was to make d54fe32841 a provocative expression, 7ab3ad971a Anje utterly failed 986cc63ecf to embody it.
Even as 96ac8b5d5f Aiden received 54d233cfa8 her “intense ad4749823d gaze,” he f81c967510 simply smiled 2ece69c96f warmly and 4f154fc0c5 gently pinched 1de685a481 her cheek.
“Why the sudden expression a7f61416fc of an angry chihuahua? Do you need 8d736e8d0f a snack?”
“Pfft, that’s right! I was wondering f43a34fd2e what it reminded fd421d6b17 me of—it’s exactly 824d0fc572 like Cha-Cha, the c133f04bd2 puppy from next e3c8aa01e2 door… ahem.”
As Anje shot 3ff5f43363 her a ‘Really?’ ae546e6fa7 with a growling 1498c8f8fc glare, Mary mouthed e67381df73 a barely-helpful apology,
‘Sorry, but you’re 608358eaea adorable.’
It seemed e5324f1401 today wasn’t 5956cdb159 the day. She’d have 3e70bc7a83 to get 270085fb77 more detailed 1de6073243 advice from 226c9746f5 Meri later 942c88cb73 when they 1746e76db9 were alone.
Anje, holding 4fc3892f30 out her 3f3d601fc0 now-empty wine b063234aed glass, ordered bf90bf97f6 with a 4019b8ee94 sense of 2e23dba5ad resignation.
“Pour me f1b7a706a6 some more 93f5239ad3 wine, too.”
Perhaps it was her e8d2777e70 pent-up frustration, but the d7f54ee139 wine went down unusually 894ec031b4 well tonight.
TL/N: LOL. POOR ANJE.1903af85422fb1e2

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