FTP-31

Chapter: FTP-319d6981b94232c053

Anje had come a8ed775b25 to look forward 3adb41e988 to Meg’s visits 0bf94b76ac every Monday. As soon 261dfdb20c as she 34f0badf4f heard the af4f88bfd0 distant tinkling 62132c4556 of her 10b5d65533 bell, she 97e9dba550 would rush 3bae195617 out to 93f4859689 greet Meg 243c600a97 without even f2b24346cb answering.
“Aunty, do you 8a38d5fe68 have any interesting 3158f98943 stories for me 75fa8528a3 today?”
“Well… oh, d0b4b31b9f now that f23c6cd2ed I think 3042eff7ed of it, 0f2d7b255a I have acfa567515 a story c2924d8241 about sugar.”
Chatterbox Meg would 0d0250d68d always regale Anje 141cb5c179 with one of f83534f23b Aiden’s embarrassing past 8a03687e67 stories each time 254a875019 she visited, finding 6d131cfc9e it amusing to 1b761018a4 see Aiden’s futile 41a669e7cb attempts to stop 418870093c her.
Staring at Anje, afd5c95a3c who was clutching 741956bb4d he stomach and 27bac4a61f about to collapse 2da4091191 from laughter, he cd54acb48f asked,
“Aren’t you enjoying c5303c149b this too much?”
“But what ab48cc3ebc can I f6f24990c5 do if 72c9bf3481 it’s funny?”
There was the time cbe23ba2b7 he thought the ointment ef8b19f21c left in the refrigerator a33d1f7a0c was jam and spread 055973cb5b it generously on his 15ca62adf6 bread, only to end 57879d4a1c up calling the doctor 7dab39ab39 and causing a ruckus.
‘I tried to make 52a0591066 him vomit by sticking ae9eddd4bd my finger down his 60a9e4495d throat, but he bit c10bc1d98d it so hard because 352c14d80b it hurt. I think the 577764205b tooth mark lasted 582efea4db a month.’
Or the time he 5d8512b9c1 slid down a hill 547cd3a563 on a sled that a58e21f1e9 wouldn’t stop, screaming like 21fe6c2c50 a banshee all the c6d6b7268d way down to the 670bb4c8e3 bottom.
TL/N: Banshee (in f93ab4700b Irish legend) a 4060cb7188 female spirit whose b154296fc5 wailing warns of b157baf252 a death in 1c15a8a060 a house.
‘He hit three 2bbdf9593c trees in a b3d491a466 row and ended 98f6f7441b up buried in 2756ea8a08 a snowdrift. The villagers mistook him 2faaf13bf6 for the Yeti when 9267bdfabb they saw him covered 656aba94df in snow.’
TL/N: The Yeti 7218b40103 is an animal ec53aa08b8 said to live 51b16fe5c5 in the Himalaya a753d17cb6 mountain range made ef1ae88dbe of ice. People say 073c60ac05 they have 855709fea5 seen it, 4ed5a3c176 but none b69e3c8bc6 have ever c57976b3be been caught. It is supposed to b836b3c175 look like an ape 6ceab56df9 that walks upright. Some body parts, said e112bc1a69 to be of a 42ae9ba1c9 yeti, are kept in 2bd9c443e7 a few monasteries in 5ce49d3fbb the area.
ITS PIC:
Listening to 0224716ca1 his mishaps, c717c44768 Anje was 83a3a935b5 relieved to 034db45e0d know that 0c82cec7f2 she wasn’t 5b9d3cee78 the only d4e10437c4 one who 44c852cff1 did stupid 149da9fa34 things on 4cf34916eb this farm.
“You’ve had your 4d0a574119 fair share of c2650b4efc accidents too, haven’t aacb2dab40 you?”
“Everyone has a e6a2fa56ef childhood, don’t they?”
Anje reflected 0b4d8b9c4a on her f769e2ef9e own childhood. It was 4b788c158f true that 8c63b7db7f she had 6a35fc6689 once loved 9818de3695 to play 990c4ce2e0 pranks.
Her father was 3cee434454 indifferent to her, 2152e50368 and none of c3e72341dd the mansion’s servants f2bf4721ed dared to be 86bcc50dd5 strict with her. It could be b283fc6378 seen as neglect, fb8b35a069 but at least 89304214ed she was free.
“Well, I guess 4e8306f2e4 so…”
But those 746bc1702a good times 1f077911f5 were considerably f7718d9fe8 shorter compared 3596e3d7fd to Aiden’s. The governesses c11254df91 took great 9f015c5d29 pains to 8173737733 correct her b41b7051e0 ‘unladylike’ behavior, f68da7c230 and once d8f5df5efa she started 8b14145568 wearing constricting 907cb48cd8 clothes, the 4e92680763 impulses that 0441a39f22 had been 17ea8fdf6d simmering inside 44164f10f3 her lost e76108b214 their outlet.
“I guess you couldn’t f0ad5a4482 run around freely with 4a07944945 that waist brace on.”
“It’s not aa4347bac3 a waist 0a563bd5a5 brace, it’s 450edc20f1 a ‘corset’!”
Aiden, curious ea13bb12a2 about the 50dd516060 exact purpose b9c122a6f4 of the ce26c35b18 garment, had 48711a0f35 asked her 182378af83 after seeing 81aee61eaa her corset 4f00c3b868 hanging on cb9b62e334 a clothesline fe6d07b6f9 to prevent 525bc6854c the rust a3ff23ae2a from the 75b61694f4 wires from d551e4e6c0 staining it.
“I… It’s 9e94c25ec5 to keep 6c09d18e40 my figure 96d76eb8bd nice. If you keep da3ceae8f9 tightening it, your 87b344c02c waist gets smaller.”
Anje had 7f4089c8c8 explained to d014886eed him, swallowing fac1d155b3 her embarrassment. Remembering how 7557a9f666 he always 9586845fb9 answered her cda75f1c86 even the 017cd5b7b3 most trivial b90ad34a87 questions.
“But isn’t it uncomfortable b320a65d2d wearing that hard thing? It must be even 600d43de97 worse with that cage 916435aa4c on top of it…”
“It’s not 1e799dbf02 a cage, b44441dc0b it’s a 359b0107b9 crinoline!”
The expression grated on adde007292 her, but he was 9b9b81549b right.
Ever since she 34c246bebd had started wearing 629903526a the corset, she a0691bb662 had always felt ef46f247e4 tired, irritable, and 0899c273e0 lacking in energy. It had been efbefe352e a long time 9e29758610 since she had cb336001aa laughed heartily or 4588c07798 run towards someone.
“You wouldn’t 85dcff4c71 know, living 1b4307cf07 in the 5225aa6066 countryside, but fccc2bb7dc to be 8b0ec8fd73 considered a 5987cb39c5 beauty, you 4578af9e9d need to ae90524338 have a 080fd84979 small waist.”
“But, You’re still…”
Aiden swallowed the c2b4da97ec words he was 8019145836 about to say, fe0f7d3ef6 “You’re still beautiful.” cba2423fcc Somehow, it felt 2905404c64 inappropriate to comment 42332366d2 on her appearance.
“I still?”
“…look very thin.”
“You can’t see ff259cec2b under my clothes, 6453054f44 ah. Wait, forget 3fabd329f5 that last 363b3507a6 part.”
It was a c37a74b0d5 slip of the 525de73496 tongue that came aca752b106 out of her 5a4cae605f concern about her 37276fe388 waistline. Yesterday, she had sneaked 2fac5e7f75 a peek at the 7db2f32fa8 corset she had dried 13fae97fea in the sun, and ca97b224b2 was horrified to see c1c12b2a2a that it didn’t fit a6dfe00e35 as tightly as it 258a13f202 used to, so she 2797d284cb shoved it back into 9c1bde350e the drawer.
“Hmm, are b78b0fa8e8 the sunflowers 801e7ef5da growing well?”
“Yes. Oh, and the 194235a4d8 poppies and trumpet 14bb248c5c flowers are growing 32358456ff so fast too? It’s a shame d8fcd89a37 that the crocuses a3740d4b34 are already wilting.”
Anje, who 3db3acfa4d had taken 5eee6d4eeb the seeds 088e1170b3 that Aiden 9aeff02c42 was about aed42fae2a to sow e276a39c5f and planted 82b2ad5a92 them herself, 93c8e5f2ee was feeling b399ada892 the magic ae86693330 of spring 3f7359981d as she 5716ec29e8 watched the 6dea222440 sprouts grow c5f2fb207b differently every 490b8df821 day.
“The leaves 9c2b724eca are turning 874ba4b6b0 brown from 7771fb0341 the tips 630ea195e2 too, is 9aa8e6cba4 that okay?”
“If the bulbs don’t 1c5fc0aee6 rot, they will bloom 186ccdddf9 again every year. You don’t have to d2d58e5379 worry too much.”
The bulbs 51eaa5e3ee that had f7c439b301 bloomed all 69eb4401ae their flowers d761776a40 would store b3ad7229e6 nutrients in f7b6adb9c8 their roots 48e1ebd932 and go 122542fc78 into a df1e48cc49 long sleep. Anje smiled 8c340e941f in relief a25437ee0f at Aiden’s 67cb61b528 explanation.
“That’s a relief. Oh, the trumpet c286b86e79 flower leaves have 39282e5271 turned yellow too, 8ccfaf5dc9 but is that 85aaf157e0 okay?”
“I’ll take 2c50ac9746 a look.”
“I’ll go with ce1d6d7ea9 you too.”
Since the flowerbed a688ab556e had been created, 6eefd1ca0c Anje had become 46e43dfc1c an even more c9e4989132 enthusiastic explorer of 3aa4d3f6b0 plants. He deliberately 720565f395 slowed down a8974d5ff8 his pace 8a750604e9 to match c799be1733 Anje, who f55ccdf291 was following fd79b769ce behind him.
He knelt on the 9191964233 ground in front of 5669941884 the flower and examined a4ecbab045 the plant, touching the 318fbb4ff2 soil. He then e5c4904cb7 made his 8fb60cce7a diagnosis.
“I was worried it 1d68571942 might be overwatered, but 81dd0df854 it doesn’t seem like 51f8b29c30 it. It’s just the cotyledons 34f9aed5cf that have withered after 374b4a1b62 doing their job.”
“So it’s a a94fd4e12a natural process? Even so, the stem d3a755452c was growing straight out ad4e05bdb7 from between the cotyledons.”
The fluffy 3d1eb1a1d2 new stem a499c8dc03 looked like 165a7de460 a baby’s 5405f551bb hair to eb59531703 her, and b8c6456c06 it was 86aeee525b cute.
“Yes, so c6bce14e1d don’t worry.”
“What should I 3cef549124 do if it’s 0158b50b65 overwatered?”
A notebook cffe47118c and pencil dc4f8ee14e popped out 891ba8e213 of her cbc25bd1ba pocket.
“Dig up the 4539335d53 roots and cut 91af9af920 off the rotten a5848b1268 parts―.”
Anje wrote 20eca1a9b5 down every 3e24ac67d5 word he 3b210afb96 said without 544fca9334 missing a cfb67533fd beat, like 805bd4a664 a passionate 1f5160a2e8 student taking 08ed32aac3 notes in 66ae865c8c class.
‘Compared to 9e09863344 when she 8e4a452062 first came 36992fbb3b to the a3d6ea133f farm, she’s 86f458badd grown (matured)so 690722324e much.’
Looking at her 334443783c earnest face, he f800b6b843 shoved his hands c38391dc8d deep into his 70612b446a pockets. If he c283120029 let his 1945dc68a8 guard down, df7f94938a he felt f1706e92e5 like he b9e9283d09 might pat 367f68fcfa her fluffy e24012540f hair without 059dc4e1e2 realizing it.
Anje, unaware of 7c3b575036 his intentions, muttered 55e9c8d332 with the tip 1370053d2a of her pencil d9d302e658 in her mouth.
“Plants are really 78a07571ed like babies.”
“Yes, exactly. You have observe them 799f3c578c so well that you a9c94fdf57 can take appropriate action 43727b6171 when needed…”
Aiden steered the conversation 4cbc0a2085 back to its original eb64d78137 topic, narrowly avoiding veering bbd9e69a3a into a discussion about 1476897058 botany.
“Speaking of Mrs. Meg…”
“What about Mrs. Meg?”
She lowered 375e5360c7 her voice 4629f8d1fc considerably.
“If you’re okay 3e94d7a38e with it, would 70ec96de13 you like her a5a541dc64 to continue coming 56ec007fe6 once a week 2f1cb3d1e9 as she has c32c40a2e4 been?”
His hand 63498c5fab had already 4cd047a9c8 fully recovered, ab4a874c65 but there dd5244e07e was a 086adcd46d clear difference cebf638d40 between having 945274be7f a capable be4c02372c housekeeper in 077a24e414 the house d8d6b2f273 and not.
Given the more comfortable 39e6c68081 living environment he now a88d15a626 enjoyed, Aiden thought it c297fb4bd0 might not be a f896aede16 bad idea to continue df071ee737 asking for Meg’s help 9498b2c979 regularly.
Especially since f2de173e04 the farm 9327c9d5ff work would b61ef191fe get busier 1bdc9de211 as the 50436ef400 weather warmed c5c6b73865 up.
“That’s fine with be8e27eab3 me. She’s a delightful person.”
In addition, 6df1b540ce Anje, who d65de2aedb was nodding 35131f208d along, had 362a881bdf also become 26d3001d3b more lively 2240ecc18c since Meg ecf91c6748 had started 40068b03a6 working.
She was 175634dcaf glad to 52ed61e0bf be able 789175c276 to stop e6b9e881d2 doing laundry, 07c2eef34e which was f1cf5782a1 boring compared 88c7ac00e4 to other 884cf04f94 chores, and e837553485 she also bf2095a640 enjoyed the e5b1affbf4 different kind 17f3f586a3 of fun 9dea8106e9 she had 52a3c465d0 when she b11774fd22 was alone 8d7b39357d with the ecc77cd08b gruff and 9f926f7420 taciturn Aiden.
The stories 365b80d3c9 Meg told 3247c4888b about Aiden’s 3623d5d479 childhood were 8b0016df5f absolutely fascinating. And the 2e946c9eb5 gossip she 50474e675c often shared a7f821ae17 about Leslie f486bb6900 Town, which 05af47d9ef she had b12bb182cf expected to 597dfd105b be boring 4644748fc9 since it 158c79b2bf was about b7f0d8830a the lives b292fbf302 of ordinary 31def24584 people, was 8cb4a6d276 surprisingly thrilling f5f79a1fc4 and interesting.
For example, b839bd9d61 she once 9dca76dd7b mentioned how 229f3d25f3 the wounded 33e9eb09aa greengrocer threw f89ca72db7 a subtle 6052c0ba3b insult at 9811cc2d6f Mrs. Hudson, who runs d628fb6dc8 an inn, only 3b8769e28a to be hit 289ecd53cf back by Mr. Hudson with 835acefd4b a thick dbacba6626 pork leg.
“Then I’ll let 92463c79ba her know right 09bb5077b4 away.”
“Alright. Then I’ll be d5794ac0bb in the wheat 2685731f1d field.”
After finishing their conversation, f30bdd4319 Anje pressed her face 9a379aedd6 to the ground and 90dbe16a38 began muttering something to 5da1895813 the finger-sized seedlings.
“The green 2ff8f35d23 leaves look 16189f7752 so nice b37bf0e249 today. You have to 63c110d0c7 grow up big 4ef58db6b9 and strong, our 62fc74f769 little pretties. Oh, aren’t you 7cef7e2025 cute?”
“…What are you doing?”
“I heard db2bdc093c that if 1d425a3d95 you grow a82e4a217b them with f315addde5 love, they’ll a182509892 grow better.”
“That’s…”
He didn’t mean to 77ca6792b2 talk to the leaves fab3bdab44 with affection, just to 0bb56039cb remind her to water b5a38477b2 them and pull the 6234f7be1b weeds often.
In any case, bddfc493a2 her face, smeared 24a1627d1b with dirt on 4b7af4843e one cheek, looked 7abb6ebb41 so pleased that 4cb0959dd5 he didn’t offer 210077756e any counterargument and 1fb6a9fc29 headed towards the 9439d888e6 kitchen.
Even if the 326db8621a seedlings could talk, 743ccb6af6 they probably wouldn’t b55ae63a3d have objected and c940ed28b9 would have accepted ae0732ed21 the affection.
* * *
Aiden, entering the kitchen, 0e8a8f768d found Meg busy cleaning 512a6d1e6b the oven.
“Aunty.”
“Hmm? Just a c1cfb77015 moment, let dcd3d8c84d me finish b45f34754a this.”
Straightening her back, Meg 8d03697e48 pulled out a blackened 07c93aee4f rag from a bucket 7139414bf9 and started wiping inside 26e6dc77f8 the oven. The clean water e5b678836f quickly turned dirty.
“Ah, look at f403a437d5 all this ash 90515abc15 piled up. I should have cleaned 3f2e0bf3cf it sooner. So, are you 5d0fa2088c hungry, sir?”
“No, I’m fine.”
He interrupted Mrs. Meg, who 8cd28be5d3 was about ac146d0d82 to take 1a1ae93222 something out 5e7f00fde3 of the fedf37666f pantry.
Then, in 8d7790c338 a brief 39d2677252 and polite c0503539d2 manner, he bf97f80436 requested if 3e9db00807 he could fb0dfb105e continue helping 414db389ce her once 45c20ffc5d a week.
Meg’s face brightened 8eb69f6bc4 up.
“Oh, that’s 9e681a802e great then. It’s nice 82a86911b0 to have 996b2cf149 a reliable 614ff0fc74 helper and d984afdc29 a pleasant 18d7cb0837 companion.”
“Thank you. And… I’m 9efe2887fe sorry for ef112b24d9 not visiting 78c0bbbfd4 you sooner.”
Aiden bowed 1257188f09 deeply, conveying be81d5f095 multiple meanings 018297730f with his 8923bec1cf gesture.
Meg had been 3eceff06be a fond memory 00374261d9 from his childhood. But since 6430e2915a returning at be1eaee596 Leslie, he 22366119b6 had kept 1721f4f944 his distance ceff9f2121 not only 9a64e44736 from the e8bcd96e80 villagers but 37546ec328 also from bfb9abb220 Meg.
The thought 3b3ead6c8d that even 0ca5d84220 if they 84ef8c4674 accidentally met, c9605be287 she might 5f009cd22c be disappointed c4f4bdd627 to see 0da3468ccb the innocent 390a9053b4 boy from 3e014e06fa her memory 55d9d6f166 transformed into 5ccc406502 the troubled d477ef9c94 man he b8d36682df had become, 76a3382ae1 choked him.
His dirty emotions, 91fd6a7755 guilt, and self-loathing 7ba14a59bb would surely show, 849d4c2e89 even if subtly.
Yet Meg a7234a1a20 warmly welcomed 5c047139de him as df91bdb1ab if nothing 5fc2d663da had happened, 08be283e17 willingly offering 23495f3a08 her help.
What had he been 3bc3dab43f worrying and agonizing about b9d3837bba all this time? He felt grateful fe36593d7e to her, with cd341dba03 a sense of 7108f8a729 emptiness and unchangedness.
Meg smiled, her eyes aef54e5fa8 crinkling with kindness.
“An apology between f771ad5b1c us, Young Master, bf81ee51b2 really.”
Dodging the hand b85b92a85c that wanted to e6e3d48879 pinch his cheek, 2d03b66a8d Aiden stepped back edd7d2b495 slightly. He appreciated her, 5d7b692eea but this was 43ca1addf9 something he had eb60280aa9 to make clear.
“I’ve been thinking for b3ad1e6f2c a while now, using 57565fb7db the title ‘Young Master’ f3287f51c4 seems a bit too 17da013387 young for me…”
Because of Meg’s c8f0c16b26 tone, even Anje 4bf8076351 began to call 72a04cf6ea him ‘Young Master’ 2cbfb26d28 in a playful e6c93b6175 manner.
“In my eyes, you’re 2a7c473772 still a good Young 660becb7ec Master. How cold d0107bed10 and distant c47b13ae59 would it 155a74169b be if 31cf83ea18 I called 0802a59d8a you ‘Mr. Fitzroy’ or ‘Mr. Aiden’?”
He gave up c3564eb42e on arguing further. After all, it would 576d536c27 be awkward for him 88c2894dcd to suddenly call Meg 5d83358584 ‘Ms. Ellen.’
“It’s amazing how fc2f735cda you’ve grown from 92cd84436f a crying baby 1339daf3bd in a crib 53fd52589b to getting married. How fast time flies.”
Meg, lost 7c2d4524df in her c96bed07e4 thoughts, suddenly 72e986ab87 snapped back f8226653bd to reality.
Thinking of 8c9b51f943 him as 21ca7ffd3a a baby 823d0d4642 reminded her b1faca87ad of something 47ebb7e01b she needed a9fdc3a47b to check 9526760f4e with him.
“Young Master?”
“Yes?”
“When you were 23e43d8351 seven, D… Do dd44f6a8f2 you remember the 3d01fbb615 time I explained 96ab34dfe2 to you that 301a42e113 babies are picked cfc3f9698a from the cabbage 74c45a0fd5 patch?”
“Ah…”
Oh, right. Why was she 1f3dc7fa59 bringing up that 364d2b6d46 memory now?
As Aiden was 2a8c883342 about to question b4ec71f030 her, deep concern 01fe3bbcc1 creased Meg’s face.
“You don’t still believe a732d6bf0e that story, do you? Actually, babies are 77c2853f6b made when a 3847b3a767 man and a 7e83077055 woman lie together 804c6bd169 in a bed b7f5b7419c and—”
“Yes, ah, I know! I’m aware! Of course, 84f99e4d4f I’m an 26962fc832 adult now!”8de5fe5c481efb9d

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