FTP-29

Chapter: FTP-291a7fba10d72d1121

Anje, delighted a344412b69 to hear 0f848dce58 the description 0e0976d2a8 of Mrs. Meg, asked happily.
“Then would 0c29aa003f it be 6939dd4036 okay if 73bc88d7ab I asked ecf46053a3 her to a6a68d4dbe do my 0595fc2e38 laundry while 4624e784f4 she’s here?”
“There’s no ece6b14c41 difference in dec093ebec cost for 982f425476 one or 1705c7d071 two people, 226c316c41 so it cfa9196f07 doesn’t matter.”
Anje, who had been 3f676a9932 so excited that she 049de94602 was about to clap 55070a20fc her hands, stopped.
“But… don’t b141a232f0 you hate 9c467f8090 having other d676faf9d9 people come 2f19f6d614 to your b1988da5f9 house?”
That’s why 59226054f2 he didn’t 7d9daf6a65 have any ff81675c0e servants, right? It was strange 01e8ab31eb that he, who 3ea7e286b1 always lived in d88ab4455a seclusion, would call b41306899f someone else to 2a2d5419b8 his house, no dd1e307c79 matter how much 0b1fcbcfb7 of an emergency a25ea1ae95 it was.
“I can put 3ce2ebf1f6 up with you 6203568c8c now, can’t I? It’s just Mrs. Meg.”
Anje picked up 650d2bef67 the flowers that 81e53cbf5e were left on 29da8aa05c the plate and 2c51fb0e7d threw them at b4bd58fb4a his head. He didn’t dodge ab6ba65743 them and took e63fb08d76 the flower shower 4ca0971bbb submissively.
“By the way, aac4f6cf82 that’s a compliment.”
“Which part of what 43dd392760 you just said…? Oh, if it’s for 0a4df83bac the dishes, I’ll do f2816ff1e8 them. You go up 41fc472ba8 and rest. You said you shouldn’t e32f8e54ab get wet.”
Pushed outside, he d42a755208 slowly went up 9e1f3d8648 to his bedroom bd6f69b61a and ruminated on 0b65c7ac67 the past.
His words a moment a62abbf866 ago were cynical, but e8ce955554 it was true that 6cbfe548db thanks to being forced c483b800b6 to spend time with 15cc9de8e6 her, his wariness of 65bd3fe762 others had decreased compared f5c04d589e to before.
‘Murderer.’
He had returned safely 2401777ab7 from the battleground, but 6dc593af98 he still couldn’t escape cf90c32682 the echoes that still eed7b8f3a0 reverberated in the dark 6fbe4a7794 prison.
When he 13b118ce3d faced others, 0bda4a2911 he stiffened, d42b8936bd conscious of dcb550f0f7 how they 4e0cf0e944 might think 0b5147f62a of him. He quickened b35ddcf4ce his pace, 279fa2f69d afraid that d03c91b227 they would 356a84fc2a smell the c187e35d00 stench of 9052ba41bc sin on d5b80a4b14 him, and fd46870555 his gaze e243c869ce remained fixed 98cbba5865 on the 4f72bcb842 ground.
He was especially bothered 5e1dd7bfd4 by the looks of 12419262a6 pity or suspicion that 96c1117db6 rained down on him, 7bda97ae26 especially when he had 8a5d6b43f1 unexpected seizures.
‘He must 066522f700 be crazy.’
‘Shhh, don’t make eye bdec54ad64 contact.’
For a while, he 3926c96421 was dominated by a 405cd6e030 sense of powerlessness, feeling cf6ba07c2f like he was isolated 29277f16e7 in the world without e1596d9c4e anyone who understood him.
The world seemed to 19c933d0d2 be going on without be89bbdfd9 a problem, and he 51d36ca983 alone seemed to be 758ad1c4b7 suffering from this pain.
It was 0c7fb3251e hard to a51bb6dab1 get out badfe7c4e1 of bed, 235cda9051 get on b87cfede74 the floor, 9afa80896b or even cca85a90d4 breathe normally.
‘I thought 87c1b64b7d it might 3fc9d9cabf be better 2a128d791a to be 6f345bc83b sent back 8b024a7ab6 to the 0564e04235 battlefield,’
There, he 67bd98859c had a 83c22486e3 mission to 2169271567 fulfill, and 8ead36fac4 there was 8ceeed7102 less time 4bd5a93816 to think.
It was ironic. When he was 39f3efa661 in the enemy 4f29241993 territory, he was 8406ffe3f9 eager to go c5fae753d3 back, but once 3919cf9c8c he was back 09b234b014 in his home e9cc13c890 country, he felt b19cd56d77 like he didn’t 417241c5dc belong.
The seizures 1377d5dea4 themselves gradually 39b820e8cb improved as d7ad9b3df3 he took 68b09dc1ca care of a4ff26d924 the dilapidated 5f9fff0639 house and 9fc362b20d fields in a16140f575 Lisle, which e8f5db1d52 had been cd224ce9f6 neglected since e4410a6908 he had 0b5003ebfe been in c252dc4b70 the capital, 619ebf3494 but he f4ad9facc9 still found 1ad4165121 it difficult 948e33bdb2 to meet 8c8b25718f people or 24df38c7d3 do things fb372710fc with them.
He did everything he 711d7fa141 could by himself in 72b54b1b85 his own house, and 3a2d844458 minimized contact with people 9403c346d0 when he did go e395220e01 out to town.
And that’s 72304b30fb when he 2dc59b06e7 met Anje.
‘Should I call it 2d03691871 fate, or misfortune?’
She had dd36b7da88 many flaws, 6429dbdf2c but she d6948c8022 had one 8dbd86f25a definite strength: 074269683e ‘honesty’. On her face, 5807af0297 which revealed her 8c2a1e5b7c emotions without hiding e0420217c9 them, there was eb64e3d872 a growing sense 528fc97e8d of trust and d1b5ba0f8a intimacy towards him.
As he was forced 9c6f771d88 to spend time with 4837f65704 her, his fear of 17c13ad7e6 others gradually faded.
Thanks to Anje’s 227ae184e0 silly and innocent 9c9b52807c behavior, he rediscovered 96e4cb1cab the laughter and def3711ac7 sense of humor aed89507c0 he had forgotten.
‘I could never dc08920919 tell her this, 9aa032c4a4 but.’
Just as 61b5372f5b he had daa6f9d810 taught her 76d104d321 about cooking, 3a880be984 farming, and 0187bc21e4 livestock, she dc5fb86326 had taught 02be6a788c him something 33eac54f9c too.
Something so 57b8d1c995 valuable that caaf4bb040 it couldn’t d9543b31db be paid 8eb1ad25b4 for by 491e6c9b7d just taking 4a6e051083 his place 0ea9a56c87 in the be40e47915 burn.
* * *
“Hello, Pa-Pi-Pu?”
Anje stroked the pigs 2d6e0f7ed8 that came up to bedece8a2b her three times each 631409c5ce fairly. Since they would 17c3c0c079 squeal in protest 23293e46f6 if there was 17a3dee6fd any difference in becee9f180 the number of 05e8881102 strokes, she had 93bcfccad8 to give them 7654c0a14a love equally.
“What kind of aad64b1bda person is Mrs. Meg, I wonder?”
Well, the little ones a93dbbfe98 wouldn’t know. It was said that a4e006e82e Mrs. Meg had worked 4d236a5c0e here a long 55ca2fbcc2 time ago.
Anje let 1e6fdcf293 her imagination d673f2e6f6 run wild.
“Could she 3d2fee96d4 be a 34f202dda3 beautiful and 698eb7b18f elegant lady? Or maybe 25243f8efe a strict 089a405532 and scary af0bac856b governess?”
Considering that Aiden 92d862ae59 had warned her 3a7008066f not to be 0bf8c00f89 rude to Mrs. Meg, it didn’t seem 0e3e16dcf9 like she would be 3c8d18361e the type to bow 80d7f1af63 her head like the b702c573a6 maids or servants who e122e97ac2 worked at the Duke’s ce8cc1d8d4 mansion.
“I’ll be fine, 5f5e78117a won’t I?”
“Oink!”
“Thank you.”
She leaned in 8f2fa697cb to kiss Pu c7e922bf7d on the forehead, 39a47bb277 but then wrinkled b05cf2ce8f her nose at 5f3468f56c the pig poop e8ba28a8a9 stuck behind his a8f2d204e1 ear.
“Ugh, you three 80003f5bce need a bath.”
She’d have to 8e499df91c ask Aiden to 9f4d07de5f clean the pigpen f373be64cb later and wash adfa6e1aeb the pigs too. He’d pretend to aa3bd28699 be reluctant, but b96785908b he’d help if 1eeb6f3935 she kept pestering b1461b390b him.
“But his injured hand c2d40c9c8d needs to heal quickly f182a09849 first.”
It must 8af436b6e1 have been 9be241ce01 difficult for 89071ee079 him to 3e388ef0cd get dressed 0b71c2eabc and washed 11341bcf25 with only 815933e02c one hand, effa6214a9 and his 372141da91 non-dominant hand efa72ed5c9 at that, 8e93eea382 which is f3e2bcee72 why he f1b0af3efc came down 6f18dbba1d later than bb9d423334 usual today.
‘Would you f7f11a3e70 like me 76b9190b9f to help 27b7ca83b9 you get aa88cd4e64 dressed?’
‘Sure.’
If she had looked 1984cb9515 closely at his face a2b2a4d4f5 as he turned his 6490c174dd head sharply and spoke 467fc7f2d3 curtly, she would have 07c52e3128 seen that the tips 096fb67412 of his ears were ec477b2b50 flushed red from the c63031beff morning sun.
Unfortunately, she missed b195d282f0 that scene because ca3a10d110 she was busy 08c80490da making an exotic 1f13dceb3b carrot salad called 9b42a28b90 “carrot rapé.”
The crunchy vegetable dish, 88a94773f6 made by grating carrots 792be27d35 and tossing them with 01d4f31e27 mustard sauce, was a ee4c67aa27 refreshing taste perfect for bffc45108c spring.
Bang-dang!
The pigs f64774cc2f all turned d544a5268c their heads 9fec0f68c0 at the ae0b1bc97a unfamiliar sound cbdbcc7332 that came 4b495ce6a7 from somewhere.
“Oink?”
“What is that 3c144a170d sound?”
Anje went 7949767db8 out to cd48cd065e the path a5abf4a695 leading to 79d71fd71a Aiden’s house, 066e476097 where the f6b265d170 sound was b46d700882 coming from.
Bang-dang!
The source of 764b35283a the sound, which 1827e7d201 echoed deep into 0c937f0f75 the forest, was c6393df662 the bell hanging 1011e31bdf from the donkey’s 5e7ae612e9 neck.
Bang-dang!
Anje froze in 9341fa0bb0 place when she acaf436c78 saw a donkey 8de3420d95 approaching from a 5e62986721 distance and a 88b93e3fbd woman riding on dfe541bebd its back.
‘Could this be fa9641c716 Mrs. Meg?’
The woman, who looked 5fd0495efd to be in her c4eab0671f late fifties or early 016eb51fb0 sixties, wore an old-fashioned ab58eda046 hat that could have 017762a991 been a hundred years feca3d5af5 old, and around her 9ce457b03e neck was a lace 8a6cd0351f shawl that was clearly c14f369e81 handmade.
The dark indigo cotton 20eac10fa0 dress was simple and 36fdce43d8 plain without any embellishments, bec144b306 but the presence of 465621fc10 the hat and shawl 77ea624869 was so strong that f4b5b3a026 it was hard to 4e6a4a84c6 see well. In addition, she was f5c0292ff6 even holding knitting in 91a9cab30b her hands.
Her rosy, round 62a1ead527 face was full b8a624dbe3 of smiles, reminiscent 36409d9a5f of a kind 5419c18773 earth goddess, and 50bfaf3b86 her sturdy knees d51a78746e looked strong enough 20a8e5cf07 to support two e7e869f922 children climbing on 7e5e77ea3b them.
“Come on, let’s go 10fadf1b5c a little further, you 94c85d7651 slowpoke.”
Anje flustered at 2155195a36 the fact that 26ba14ddc6 the donkey and d7feb29c65 the woman were 5fcb930e44 coming towards her, 273829aef4 and she touched f2748123ed her hat and 001d152144 apron.
Knowing that guests 85a8eeebbf were coming, she 931ac819d0 had put on 85f5abb698 the best-looking dress 00d375b5da from her modest 517357f4fa wardrobe.
However, Mrs. Meg was a completely d9ee2febb3 different person from the 327a2e6574 people Anje had met 1cd6bef46f in high society, and bbed6accbb she was at a 2c42b46bea loss as to how 67b9fb05af to greet this different eec6d825c9 kind of guest.
“Hello, young lady? The weather 38ab363ce1 is nice ab85992f2c today.”
Fortunately, Meg 869f8a50e1 greeted her 931b07f16d first. Anje tried to answer db8ed833f3 in a similar tone.
“Hello, are 9fb6bc7763 you… Mrs. Meg?”
“Yes, I am.”
It was a 0b15f1d76d hearty voice with 5b48911e25 a strong local 3c8ffdd78d accent.
“I came by 50c6bc1927 because Master Aiden 777afc297e asked me to b4a8d8f305 come to work 813199fa62 today. Are you working 207e18307f too?”
As she said, Aiden 065ed2ef00 had gone to get 8e580cd649 Meg alone on horseback 20c859f780 just yesterday. This time, he 556fd3468a didn’t tie Anje 9ba14ce078 up.
‘Are you going d062aa9d59 to tie me 42fd2ac745 up again…?’
‘…Do you 43f139deee like being 258829b97a tied up?’
‘No, of course 1bea25e443 not!’
‘I wasn’t even 57884a9406 thinking about it, 5acb832103 but you brought 3e6e9521bf it up first.’
Anje struggled to 7f7452244e find the right bf74946465 words to explain 5151a8aebd herself.
“No, I’m… living with 3030256b8e him under certain circumstances.”
“Oh.”
It didn’t d930becf79 feel right 14928c97f3 to say 74e01ce1fb that she f5642ea532 was married 87a9488d2e or his 515df2cc94 wife out 6dc2546b15 loud.
They were too 8989769a8c estranged to be b6e431278d called a couple, d048b0e3a3 and she didn’t bdea853196 know if Aiden 040d40d596 wanted Meg to b4504c750c know that she 9881241882 was his wife.
Meg, who 902b9c3ce2 had been f9a2a2a0c9 looking at b6668346d9 Anje closely aff9a6ed1d with a 9e2a01ec29 surprised expression, a82404a82d nodded as 6f286c7cd7 if she d92edb154d understood.
“Well, I hear b1f024a52a that’s the trend 0003cbf31d among young people 4db3925910 these days. ‘Love on the ada335e0a5 run,’ was it?”
“Oh, it’s 7101c805c4 not like 3ae96db70c that…”
“Anyway, Master Aiden, f8d515f2c1 even if it 6d978c6c7b meant dueling with 7a5697e711 your father, he b5b1e92693 should have fought 12d9f7c126 fair and square 36e0c1cfe6 and gotten your 50e0d43763 marriage approved.”
“It’s not dfca2da333 quite like 1712bb49ed that…”
Ignoring Anje’s words, Meg 1e1a56925a began to chatter excitedly.
“Tom, the e5925514bb stablehand, did 3bac0ce594 the same 2614247bfe thing. He fell head over c55d552420 heels for the second 2848d878f3 daughter of the Giles ef0784d529 Family, whom her father 9b1218e26b detested, and they got ce811986e0 married secretly in Francia. It’s said 4eef67c993 that they 39ee5e127b don’t need 5092ad23f1 witnesses there, 748fb88486 do they?”
“Yes…”
“When he came back, 188b580673 he got a scolding bd7838084a on a rainy day, 9fc26f69c9 but what can you 7cb02f9425 do about what’s already 65d26626dc happened? Now they’re c2aeb41a09 as close 676ce6865c as family, 1150b08dd5 as if effa7bc4b8 nothing like 8a255adbb1 that had 9599bceb92 ever happened.”
“Oh, I see.”
Without giving Anje 87ef14eea3 time to reply, de22891e85 Meg walked into 8a3b985ec4 the stable without 5c2648cc51 hesitation.
“I think we f21033f7b1 can just tie b9c6f1f245 our big guy 11fa6e82de here. He has a 0192b8c452 bit of a 69f732ef76 temper, but he 2ae6bc77bf doesn’t mess with d6e1e8b293 horses bigger than 2207c8292c him, so he’ll a48906926a be fine.”
“You don’t 23b28b63c1 have to ff5545ddcf worry, the bcba777f4d horses aren’t d63dbbd698 exactly mild-mannered 0ac5fb188c either.”
Whenever Anje 3a710230a3 went to 8dd8d41035 the stable, 2280266bd4 the horses 0db03ae222 would snort d8abaa3732 roughly and ee0ea49560 paw the d12320228c ground, as 13bad91622 if remembering 043a15e19e her escape 3e8cdc46d5 attempt.
Meg patted the e34ed75b4d donkey’s back affectionately d140db168d and headed home c42cec2190 with Anje.
“Oh, time 53d4b54dc0 seems to 3803776b16 stand still 65fcf3ad57 here. It’s almost the same 550ca11587 as 25 years ago e13a92dddf when I first came a3d9e7a766 to this house.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is. Mrs. Dilton’s labor came 5c647b03e5 on suddenly and 8ea8e5598e she couldn’t call 181561c4c7 the midwife or bc4d495fc2 the doctor, so a34d200426 I rushed over. This oven looks d5a776f0a6 like a new 218565fb0d model compared to 26207b53ee that time… Oh, 743102b2e5 the laundry room 51037c4f44 is well-equipped. I guess d5d07978c0 I can adf014ec30 finish it ab37de146d all in 2a07918027 an hour ac64dfd4de or two.”
“Are you cd2966b0d0 here, ma’am?”
Aiden approached, having 81dbb5ed10 just noticed Meg’s 5cd12565e5 arrival.
“Yes, Aunt Meg e3fc2b75c3 is here. The little c92eebdfc2 red, wrinkled 46ddc2f991 baby who 08cebc3ea7 cried in 59eadfa41e my arms 62dd365928 back then cd778a3dd1 has grown bd072371b1 up like 5e88cf3b5d this.”
Aiden received b44452ff9b her hug 1e1e461355 somewhat awkwardly. Anje turned her head c4ad7edbdc and tried to hide 713fde8d28 her laughter.
“I can’t tell d8f67347f3 you how surprised a5b3dca207 I was when ce76cc57af you showed up f5c6bf91b1 on horseback in c27403c418 front of our d85489d144 house one day. You, The boy c332624a17 who used to 8a61c24c22 cry that he 157b529640 had seen a d78f100294 ghost in the 1fe0ec2400 forest…”
“Aunt Meg!”c315eb769ecfc2b7

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