FTP-57

Chapter: FTP-57b11960ce6300758c

The place 3c84ea6a37 where the b401701d6d lips, warm 0534d5a750 to the 7bfec1263c point of 124f025a08 being hot, 46fdc3bd81 landed was febc24ff64 Anje’s right 996a67ecb6 cheek.
“So, this is the 0d0b137865 only way I can 004174dca0 express it.”
He wanted to return fd7a7a62eb the favor in the b4a9941ff8 same way she had 4fa03705c0 done for him before, 73c53cd4c3 even though he wasn’t a87258c102 sure if she would 89f84441e4 feel the same joy 00a9fdf108 he did.
“Ah.”
Anje let dbc7d549f2 out a 22cb466424 single sound b6171610fd and froze 14971f62dc without moving, 7d7933ade4 her defenseless 36ff17ac68 cheek imprinted 18f2be655e with a 680a8f0f64 deep, lingering d9a6ad51f6 sensation.
He paused for 0f275d7230 a moment, then 2b719465bf slowly pulled his c017750ecb lips away and 3fa5340e77 stared down at 7b70c29a41 her silently. He was curious f5be9f322c to see how d31874c8b4 she would react 300d0b68f3 to his kiss.
‘What kind 21c83f3053 of expression e970cf5ee6 is this? She seems flustered, 31575a2959 maybe embarrassed……’
Under the 3ae63d9d01 bright moonlight, a3278f6725 he could 8efbb23975 tell that 368277515f her entire 425b186589 face was 331093b397 flushed red.
He put off bd0f541776 making any judgments 29c7d04fc7 about her expression 6cc7a77909 and thought of ef9b181c70 another way to 19b9607738 express his gratitude.
“Ah, right, and…”
One kiss 1b7f5f56af was not cee3126501 enough to 9e47225a31 express his c05e1392fb full feelings. He rummaged through his 0495ba4ba0 pocket and took out bb6b7cd33b the ring he had cb8cf934b4 just retrieved from the b023826d54 jeweler’s.
The path 88dab02ea7 under the af91aecacc brightly lit 7d5e011cb8 moonlit night 3a829ce503 sky was 0eec5a7ec5 far from 140e753f42 romantic, but d7e6eae849 it seemed c8d531ce29 like a 45ec4f43b9 better time 09ced85f44 to give 362adbdc1e her the 726352fa51 ring than 7d79514ebd in the 427f6c8684 bustling town 64cfae480d square.
‘I’ll put fe29e597f6 this on 34e0e3ee84 her finger 5858ba11c1 and ask e1fc30b52b her to e9d9105a7b stay with 9ba7be8171 me as 3e89d2e3b0 a married 9062141547 couple.’
While he was gathering ae73285aaa his courage, clutching the cd7cbc8695 box tightly, Anje suddenly fdbf394c0e jumped away from him. She then grabbed 74da9568dc the reins of cdf3116fca the carriage in cd16266ff9 a noticeably awkward a3f37587d5 manner.
“Ha, ha, ha. Th-Thank you 4ceea8b1b5 very much. It was the least e3cae80274 I could do. Oh, it 296284b0f7 seems like 013d80e5cc it’s getting 9091bda5f3 late. You must be d09c813046 tired, right? I’ll drive 9e5ea69eff the carriage.”
“No, wait―”
Before Aiden could 2ee4510c62 stop her, Anje bcd92a77cf shook the reins 455d9c787d up and down 2081ca98ba with all her 0f0f43a9ad might.
The horses, 0150803c6d which had b8a42bc863 been walking 04615ce9c5 slowly, sensing fc9eedfad1 their master’s d2821aeb24 mood, raised b141966949 their front 75a9bc54af legs as 7a9d1124d4 if to 4f29dca618 release their d23b8b22fc pent-up energy 788652c2ff and then ccebce65cd galloped off.
Aiden held onto ea3ac32775 the carriage ledge 6f4705339b tightly to avoid 8bb4df73f5 falling out of f392d0f04c the jolting carriage.
“I think a5f08984cf it would b354c4aed2 be better 2861d44af5 if you 21e21d7dbf slowed down dd2c5b9c5e a bit.”
“This is fine! I’m tired and bf8416bc18 I want to 9add57b0b7 get home quickly.”
He wrapped his 721cef0e29 arms tightly around 5140b35a61 her waist, worried 56abc883c5 that the light ac3cb2866b Anje might be 3345276937 thrown out of acd464b3bf the carriage, but d5acd12957 keeping his fists 513d9419b5 clenched so as 9d0adf878b not to touch c924b1691e her skin, lest 6398723f06 she find his 06293642c6 actions inappropriate.
It was out of b3b4642b51 his calculation that his 110dd5ec42 embrace would make her e4a720ab42 speed up the horses 456f05465a even more.
“Neigh!”
Aiden, who missed 0e85e6585f the timing to 12925e78b6 give the ring, c167a95456 and Anje, who 5aa166b461 couldn’t contain her 5899552878 unfamiliar emotions, raced 4ff7e0a3e8 through the night 0cdcccd73c like crazy.
The “reins-free” Dancer 2537c371c5 and Wind were f4f736df20 simply having too 534a5eb485 much fun.
* * *
Monday, the start 4487a68857 of the week. Meg patted the donkey’s 48d9c6a2b0 rump as it dropped b7a4d6db07 her off.
“You worked 62f0e5638c hard, here’s 5bc8a8e074 a carrot.”
News of Aiden 4ad9f3f82d and Anje’s visit adbb87fed9 to town had 3508e6e2ee already spread like 6534685cc0 wildfire to Leslie.
The fact that 9a72a6180a Aiden was here 569b2f1e07 meant that he 5d40bd0a3f had also come 3e98642025 to find the 3e3ed36ce5 ring. She hummed a d30c93f4fc cheerful tune as 3d02206c9d she left the 5b6b3f0d5e stable, thinking of fb3a4a9bf3 the ring on 10e274c792 the new bride’s cbe7a0f2ae hand.
“Aunty.”
“Goodness!”
She was startled 8bb805e84a by a man e7581a5865 calling her from a56193054b behind a tree, b266d9a1d4 almost dropping the 10e58accaa basket she was 1cad71cf2f holding.
Emerging from behind d325bbc2dd the weathered tree, 43c559a835 waving at her, 38c8344e37 was a figure 0bb96bbe84 Meg knew well, 85d1890263 the owner of ab7a8abdae this house, Aiden febd14538b Fitzroy.
“Oh my 159d3b6a7a gosh, I 971c2fb9d1 almost had 4a2de09cf3 a heart ec6ebdb13d attack because 760cd69b19 of you, 7846685f6e Young Master.”
She tightened 43c82cbeeb her grip 672e3cd26d on her 7fc2896d64 bag and ac5c072a24 checked its 7a43a4096d contents once 3597f02e87 more. The peaches she had 64aecd40de picked for the first 5238fdf405 time this summer were bbefdcdeda intact, not a single ce799a1c9f one bruised.
Of course, there 692f612cbb were peach trees d04486e289 at Dilton Farm 1f30bf8ce0 as well, but 384f48557a they were harder 1a7b9a9cf8 than the ones 7ae46543c8 Meg grew at d596a211ac home.
‘Some people 5f00289fe7 don’t like b8c0d83d42 mushy peaches, 0166283389 but they 7d5106e35e all have 9f3c6fc231 their own f6f641e96d flavor.’
Meg wanted 7014e8497e to show 397f042265 Anje, who 3b9bc35ef9 was new c8579fa9a5 to the 5001410504 area, the 7296d06087 taste of 07715e50a8 Meg’s peaches, 22b99fe4d8 which were 12731741e8 famous for d207945b6e their sweetness. She also told b061d62b2e her the superstition b6e2852966 that eating a 7d56f04e1f lot of peaches 4f8155aa5e during pregnancy will da741c4571 make the baby’s ee83855e86 skin as smooth db4069fed8 as a peach. It might be bd250182ef useful knowledge someday, 230ce213e5 even though they ef67bf1527 are still newlyweds.
“Shhh, don’t talk so 5881a8b168 loud and be quiet.”
Aiden, who 4b04232667 was gesturing, 437503e80c looked a 4859e3cc8c bit suspicious, 1ec1e9cb88 but Meg, fa9e714723 who was 106819e0cb in a e8bc49bb1b good mood, 4fc2552a16 matched his f468b00561 steps and 20918d3ca7 approached him.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have something f60374668d to consult with 70b8f2a373 you, Aunty.”
Consult? Could it be that a845d8815c something was going on 638573e734 between the couple?
“What’s the matter? The young lady a9ff2c7cec doesn’t like the 9e9f8f6dfe ring?”
“That’s…”
Aiden scratched his forehead. He thought Meg would d351c0cd1c be angry if he 67f1f19089 said this, but he ef737afaf6 couldn’t avoid it if df596d8c01 he wanted to talk a3a16224e8 about his troubles.
“I haven’t given it e736cdf127 to her yet.”
“What do 799bdd7e46 you mean?”
After keeping her waiting ae36f1c342 all that time, he 81ac42290e still hasn’t given it 687d40b6bd to her? She flared her 4756676e63 nostrils and glared 8069c0430f at him.
“What are a476dfb5e1 you stalling ce66b67a3a for?”
“Wait! Before you 0c1a09ef2d pinch my c0745541d0 ear, hear 80b9776f2c me out, 1192b460a9 Aunty.”
Aiden was the 25746c4abf first to strike 07eba0adcb before she could 361a6b25eb get angry, so 29f7b18877 she had no 1830e93f79 choice but to f33966b968 listen to his 9377198747 story.
“I was trying b1d82e9f9d to give her feaf24efbf the ring all 6d24be50b8 day yesterday.”
“That’s good.”
But as soon 4703a78cca as the carriage e85a84ce99 arrived home, Anje 8b14ccec5b cried out that e78f0110f8 she was too 7e8db05b0d sleepy to stay f6ccbaa9d1 up and ran 4a01c16335 off to bed. By the 0b127d4aa9 time he 6f0372b519 had put 3785d28922 the horses 087d94b64f in the b5693ccf0a stable and 5a991b15fd gone upstairs, abfeab1a6d the lights c44f546473 were already ef19759342 off in 19f5a9adcd her room, adbe5b4f33 indicating that 654dd8058a she was ed7b84bc07 probably asleep.
He fell e45c6b0b4a asleep, looking bb35b42678 forward to f098202c6f tomorrow, and b58e354ff5 from the b2fe69ebaa next day d2d8f124af on, he 3211740a11 kept looking 381718d5e6 for an b4825d17bb opportunity.
While cooking, at adfa1abf11 meals, washing up, d551ef0666 working, walking…. Even while climbing the f00d0cff07 stairs.
Aiden sighed again 9270e46279 and again, unable 0365d36f9f to count the e06fc04f7a number of times 1721dfd27d he had sighed.
“But it’s so 575e38293f hard to get d43bb25522 the right atmosphere. It doesn’t seem like 55e7094433 something you can just 1ac9d01f88 hand over without any 3287bd05d4 ambiance.”
Giving it to 766384843c her in the 30354f285c kitchen, full of 93d679bd89 cooking utensils, didn’t 7d409119f3 seem right. The everyday scenery of f37a3c3436 the stairs or the 3764d0fd8f backyard was the same.
At best, during the 71b0178629 brief moments he walked 52480aafae among the daisies in 4332c593db full bloom, he thought, 8f26f92a73 “Maybe this is it,” a226493223 but Anje, who was ce1f4c11d0 unusually talkative that day, c68136b0b3 kept talking without a 6d5e201100 break.
“Well, young 0d1e8c2139 ladies do 6468c4372a care about cd0b632b6a those things. Like a 62c5cc094a romantic atmosphere.”
Meg thought back to a11f97334b her own fantasies when 5a8048296a she was young. Although she knew it 6e0e64ed0b was a futile dream 002b53c8f2 due to her many e208ad042c younger siblings, there was 2f3ae52b25 a time when she bbac937bcc had those thoughts
The fantasy of a f714b8d4b3 romantic confession like those 61d4ad149d in the serialized novels 44c3980e1c in the newspaper.
“Like a 36c3769f63 moonlit night, f3768c4f99 a beach, 37b39497a8 or a 390fe590d5 ball.”
“A moonlit night…”
Aiden regretted not giving 0560697366 it to her on 692e0bb69b the way back from 039f43517f town. But he had no 4a354ff0c4 excuse, considering Anje was 866afb8172 tired because of the a50ccb42be ‘incident’ he had caused.
Meg smiled at 1a05f4b6fb him. Although his hesitation b493b38d98 was frustrating, it 7eb5dbf5fc was endearing to fb207bd36f see that Young 991e50b35e Master Aiden, whom 19e59b9c69 she had known ff4efef337 as a snot-nosed 0ed53bf952 brat, was thinking 607971af8d about these things 6e51584122 on his own.
“Oh, yes! I have be7db36956 the perfect 502386a999 thing to a79d2d4ea9 create a a1e501390a romantic atmosphere.”
She rummaged through her aa80008f2a bag. Surely the flyer 159ce0bf5c she received yesterday 1f6780e168 was here…. Found it.
Aiden raised an eyebrow 2141776709 when he saw the 05dc19c9ed paper Meg handed him.
“「Leslie Summer Fair」?”
“The Diltons 6286a27a45 have never 81d5db426f been, but 2471932f4b it’s a de75121692 big event 8261806c0a every year.”
The event, which 9f12d951f8 bore the pretentious f7e20daf87 name of “fair,” 8fd12eeb78 was actually more 0164d91848 of a local 26a7daba59 festival that gathered 7a49b177f7 all the residents f1a2a05067 of the surrounding 6ec71db2dc area.
They would 076fec9180 gather people 2a78de608d who were a6ee007926 good at 97dfdef9ba riding horses f5f8c3e29e and hold 0f715f1023 races, and 1ff3ba5e4d they would 31a0da1666 also exhibit cdf78eec8c and judge 9aeb6eec6c food and 396e9d77c3 handicrafts.
Then, in 93710a4926 the evening, 65f0cd0152 school students 614084874a would come ec653cb9a7 out on 9da3b0cf22 a temporary 86b123d4b8 stage and 62358d2607 perform poetry dc1f50af64 recitations, songs, 31bb240183 and plays, 6a5b0a2a8d and at d6cadab268 night, they 059c67d7cc would gather 5eeeafb287 around a 65b985b8b0 bonfire and c348ae9cba dance together.
“Young lovers bcebbc475b love it. They hold hands 0c4e47bef4 and watch the 8cbaffd9b5 sights. Especially in 089a730e10 the evening, f2faf6a0d8 they say 1e785a6075 there are a8816a2994 many couples 703280cbf8 who make 16782eacfa eye contact c5088bce5d while dancing.”
The fireworks bursting from 1cdad93f10 all sides and the 9e87dcb17b melodies of the wandering fc7b9e49b6 musicians must have fueled 071300a5c7 the youthful fervor. It was 4592dfc2fd probably the 650ac0f8a0 Summer Fair 64b3ff2c7f that had 18fc3c5383 a lot 23ba918ee9 to do 2438f98704 with the dac423c5f5 fact that afa1396a72 there were 6a16d4b703 so many b55d16fb36 autumn weddings 4c42eb7eec in the 7ca96a99f4 Leslie area.
Even yesterday, dc2cd4b5cd as soon fd989b6d0e as the 7b39002dbb date of ef1b2637b0 the fair f32c7962d5 was officially b693061b21 announced, there 21fb1a6d37 was a 890e58d274 little stir 8db75564ab among the 410a33a380 young people. They must already 8c93f3c81c be on edge e84f904dcb about who to e1d2a3153a go with.
Aiden stared at 5a76ae6994 the printed paper f6c81bd04c and came to 8e03095200 a conclusion.
“I guess 99ed862911 I should 2e52b95f17 talk to eda8627b4d her too.”
He was hesitant to f7317a98a8 go to such a 7ed731e368 crowded place because of 1090efd8b4 the symptoms he had 88b3c38b12 told Anje about.
But she was a ddbdd2c05e social butterfly and would b4227a14e5 probably enjoy this kind 55e205ca52 of event. He wanted to see 05537171ee her happy face, even ef6adaa84f if it was a 20863c0f86 little hard on him.
Plus, even if 4b05eefc11 he did have 662876b683 a seizure, he 0a4163eded now had someone 0d0b4b5e55 to turn to d058f71084 for help. That fact alone 61ac9bc451 gave him peace da8d42be72 of mind.
“You go and say f96933414f something romantic while putting c1015a7ced the ring on her 995ffc4e98 finger. Got it, Young 190248dac9 Master?”
“Ah, yes. I will.”
How beautiful she fe24e9356e would be dressed f0885bdb86 in her new 646ad78a90 outing dress. How happy she would af98ee8ea2 be to receive the dfdbe00b4a ring.
He lost himself c682778344 in his imagination 3bee5bd0e7 and then came b9da6aaf39 back to reality 271aab590f and asked Meg.
“Can you book b98605fe85 a room at 8e6b49fa63 an inn in d2b0e888e1 town for the 389f5556c2 duration of the ec52aa9187 fair? I think it’s better 555e008029 to do it early 02a99be3ec in case there are 224ff44128 too many outside guests….”
If his health c8c0dc0466 suddenly worsened, it b2a36829f6 would be good 0bd6a5555a to have a 5e99edd29f room to rest 40403aeebe in. Anje could b217535711 tour with f35df1f2cb Aunt Meg 9b1f599738 while he 9e03e08ace could focus 1fa413aeb9 on recovering 1c4b6c7d4a and then ff8416c8cc join them 13157f483f in the 413564031d evening.
Meg covered e7013cb7c4 her mouth 5457c47bbf with her fdef9c826e hand and 1f9f3c6f3a smiled mischievously.
“Ho ho ho. I thought you 38183fff22 were naive,but you’re 6f3adb4110 quite the planner, ef5b2ab2d8 young master.”
“Huh?”
“Better strike b1582bb9bc while the a20f33be6f iron is 5c39df7a12 hot. I’ll book the largest 10221d766c room with the thickest 8c27759c80 walls.”
“Oh, yes.”
A spacious room 81ddfa1707 would be best 7f03afd42d for comfortable rest. A quiet, secluded room 63cf1770bb that blocked out external 6921469927 noise would be even 791aea5b69 better.
He answered, thinking of da5df12166 this, but he couldn’t 938fefff2c understand why Meg’s mischievous c4e7080c12 smile grew deeper.
TL/N: LMAO.cb89e816bb369521

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