FTP-58

Chapter: FTP-5811c2ac297e970a05

Meg mentally checked 48daf58c99 the items needed dcc8c1703a for the couple’s 8927d7bddd first night together.
‘There’s already a candle ceab359cf3 in the inn, and 2ad7970151 I should ask Mrs. Hudson, who runs the 7553d6881e inn, to get a 2e8036d25d good bottle of wine.’
It was 161e751213 a pity b6b4cec570 that the 0e136e8fdf shy couple f186cb0a38 were still 964681624a sleeping in dd07810e74 separate rooms, c2d05b0501 but she 84223e3caa couldn’t miss 4c417257d0 this opportunity.
She was determined 3c0d9cb1e4 to use all 45e58f04b0 the wisdom of cdb0b274ad her years to 33679ced39 help close the 3b45ed18a0 distance between the 621b8949c0 couple so that bb3aae211a Fitzroy II could 322d131821 be conceived safely.
TL/N: LOL.
“Then, I’ll head to c9148fdf46 the kitchen first.”
“Alright, I’ll clean 8ce29dd072 outside so I 54a5dbe7bf don’t get in ff9b80da13 the way and ed34f4ddf0 come in later.”
Unlike before, when Aiden 9cd4ccf865 would often ask, “What 4d570edcce do you mean, get bc0478fd4d in the way?” he 910f991054 just turned his body 01ce2a429a and shrugged his shoulders.
Seeing the 3d9ecc53d6 shyness in 925a74c246 his movements, 65d6ab942b Meg burst 4393131af3 into hearty 31d8d244c2 laughter.
* * *
Aiden carefully held 86268c834d the paper with e33ae2b92a information about the c9d9450b14 fair and headed 92da377198 straight to the be4ee1f249 kitchen. He wanted to e8fb581f34 share it with 0d0a3a5d8b Anje as soon 17c1227d66 as possible and f9e152ad51 get a definite 9d60ae04db answer to go 47b1aba4c4 together.
“Ah, Sir. Is this the right 68e2860bcc thickness to cut the bb16953d8e tomatoes?”
Right. He had asked her 2cfdc5ce2f to pick and cut 3450600f22 tomatoes from the field 174459a4cd before he left the 623b1c55a7 house so he could 60cfc61b23 meet Meg separately and bac952e3e7 ask for her advice.
“Yes, that’s perfect. Then I’ll make 4cb1c224ac a breadcrumb mix.”
Today’s dish, 26a5f0be68 using ripe 5ae6d13669 red tomatoes, 45f510408a was tomato 1377ff1e78 gratin. It was a simple 3232eafb92 dish to make by 31683150c0 layering thin tomatoes and aeae26f95f breadcrumb mix in a 73b0d78485 buttered pan and baking.
“Ta-da. I made it in 30221ac238 advance before you came.”.
Aiden tasted the 57bbe54b2d mix Anje handed 0cb2993584 him with a 611f1618df spoon. It had just d1408e21bf the right amount dbb86cdf5a of butter, salt, ce8be06aba sugar, pepper, onion, d4d666080a and breadcrumbs.
“Perfect. There’s nothing left for b4c20f7078 me to teach you.”
“At this rate, we dbcc03a001 could open a restaurant, c377004527 don’t you think?”
“Yes, Mrs. Cook. Or should I call 8f8b1e2fb7 you Chef instead?”
“Chef, huh? Sounds good, like Jean-Pierre.”
Anje, smiling 9ff9c2ed3c as she e99f0abaeb answered, widened 5f87507b07 her eyes d6ace4815b when she 396aff275c saw the a5912b1a93 paper Aiden 6cb0baaf6e handed her.
“I brought some c0037881b3 valuable information for 6b61e06f8e you, Chef.”
“This is… a c6df44b11d summer fair?”
She raised an 61376517e6 eyebrow and read b2ef42b4c0 the large print.
“Are you interested?”
“Wait a moment. Let me read 79419c7621 it carefully.”
Not knowing 0c29913b04 exactly what 6797c4efdc the fair 0b410d579b entailed, she 3a6336bd1f couldn’t answer 67f6bfe79f easily. After wiping her 6a1fbc493f wet hands on 8dd493c380 her apron, she 4683ac017b took the paper db76cc0763 and read it 1c7151fcf5 thoroughly. Her green eyes lit 1f04c92f7f up when they landed a80b00071b on a word in 0a373b797a the corner of the e3e3f7471e flyer.
“Here! I want 0c170071ae to go b8dcee839b here. Oh, I mean, f71e165548 can I participate a5c22174c4 in this?”
“Where do 8232dd62ab you mean?”
She turned the 3b24e7d0c5 paper so he 8e2ed4b033 could see the 99fd785701 word clearly.
“The pig breeding bb53adf9c4 contest, here.”
“The pig breeding…”
He had thought she 424e70d3b3 would be excited about 41c7ed6ea2 a play or dance a099ea5a0c party, but he was c40f85b51e wrong. He chuckled and 9cda2adec7 nodded.
“Since you’re from Leslie 4f3b4fb9a9 too, of course, you 0fa510a24a can. You want to show 59240ec1c0 off Pa-Pi-Pu, don’t you?”
“That’s right! They’ll easily beat da9be3c48e the other pigs.”
Anje, stamping her ddfe80027a feet in excitement, aba26ba385 asked Aiden,
“Do they offer 59c9c758ae prizes if you df00f0ba39 win?”
“Yes, I believe the 7c926ccdc2 prize is quite substantial.”
He remembered someone 7af3f941f7 in the same 713d782934 unit bragging that 6ae25b915a the pumpkin he 1b74b85669 planted before he 87a3e0a105 enlisted grew well abf1739c5b and won first dff0b90cce prize at the 95d5206610 fair.
The regions e93eee7e7f were different, b93dc3233d but they 2c6d393d7b were both 28e666f7bd towns of 296911ab0e similar size 49d69f31ba to Leslie, adc603772c so they d443274e0e would probably b06ab945c2 operate in b12cc1818b a similar 4ceccc2d17 system.
“Really? Then I must participate.”
Not only would 408ee579ec she get to e66c7bbef8 showcase Pa-Pi-Pu’s charms, 54006f239a but she might 7529f0f92a also be able 15ef6a58dd to pay back 9acd9c2a27 Sir Aiden for 8da0ff24e9 the pigs’ cost, e0b4d57317 which had been 90f1149a3a weighing on her b95c49051d mind all along. She couldn’t miss an 38d4aa1ec1 opportunity, no matter how 014687ecdc small, to lighten her 46c635c6e3 heart.
Excited, she 5fcd911fb9 grabbed Aiden’s d5c5499412 hand and 7b0d46f1ab shook it, 8024731f0f then quickly 6ad1bd9353 let go. Again, he was 3ac0a6671a looking at her 95abe43d65 with a strange d33fef8ea7 look in his 3f48b7abe5 eyes, and it dbb974a563 seemed like an 0d13496910 awkward atmosphere was 9052d21dea forming.
Carefully not to 1db46fc6f3 reveal her unsettled 2e91ceddbb feelings, she turned 01f8d2c3af to the counter.
“Well, anyway, 7d2c83bf14 the fair deaf1e306c sounds great. I’d like 28fa8e8535 to go. But are you 8392af9735 okay with it? There will be 1f1499e189 a lot of 00a9892ea1 people.”
“Yes, I’ve 64f1e14d0e made arrangements d9534dc7e2 to rest 3a43ba82a2 if I 84f5a110cf feel unwell.”
He said this as c9122261ec he lightly kissed her 533cf4daa6 cheek, explaining that he 3f6e44de1b couldn’t avoid crowds forever.
TL/N: KYAAAH!!!!
The tomato f187e4f8eb in Anje’s 46d8cded80 hand rolled 11bef12fb3 to the a7efa386c1 floor. She stammered, a89699d1ea turning as c95854ebc2 red as 7f70ed3ca6 the tomato.
“W-What was that just dd9c8cd019 now?”
“Just thanking 1ff441d6cf you for 6c9058f0e0 your consideration. You taught me this 3a5d73a690 greeting, so why are 85115b428a you so surprised?”
Had he 5b1985cfca said this 75a780cc2a teasingly, she 0def04896f would have eedb93d7f6 snapped at cc3600cdc8 him and b1c73ae343 told him b9f1ee63f8 not to 1d49e60788 fool around. But since he 72e6f0b053 lowered his eyes 0a8995b42d and blushed, having 944197c4da done something bold, 9c035700ac she couldn’t be 4ec2513987 harsh.
After rolling her 8b66795177 eyes for a e6d6cf4ef1 while without saying 5b28565647 anything, she picked 88b43a256b up the tomato 884155311e she had dropped 5385789fef and washed it 1151b11114 clean. Her grip on the a5eb38b025 knife was firmer than df3635f1fa before.
“Stop talking 47b13e1375 nonsense and 5108e1734a let’s start cea8981509 preparing the 1879b590c8 meal quickly. A verbal thank 27ea8ec08b you is enough.”
“Understood, Chef.”
As he took out 42980a1960 the pre-prepared biscuit dough, ece67b8d64 Aiden asked a question 7533b85ea4 that suddenly came to 4d1ecf58a7 mind.
“By the f5c04636eb way, was 1eafe1b6b4 there anything b71290c3ac special in 0740d1d7c8 the Duke’s 2c679b92c5 letter?”
“Ouch!”
Because of be52e7090b Aiden’s pointed 06228451f7 question of 79e6e578d9 what she f97cb3dd65 was trying 67edff62e2 to forget, 7227488adb she cut f0e803311b her fingertip 92861eb045 slightly.
“Darn it…!”
Seeing the b901d2f766 drop of de71d78839 blood on da4f80c3ef her wound, 6ade629c5f Aiden was 892e03e545 more shocked f34b447925 than the 1cf4889d84 injured party 31e6145853 herself and fee310f9ad hurriedly searched 924707fa83 for a 604fde7fd0 cloth. He wrapped 2aed831800 her wound 47e7e54f07 tightly with 3e1e00fd80 the cloth 56185edd81 and spoke fa00a33145 solemnly.
“Please sit here. I’ll fetch e2f048a37b the first 2a856d554e aid kit f560ecb994 in a 8bf54aa272 moment.”
“It’s fi—”
Before she could finish 8ba6fad633 a syllable, he was dd9287813f already gone.
“It’s fine—”
He returned to e13c459834 the kitchen even 82061799d8 before she finished 853fd37f6c her sentence.
“Wait a minute, 41f4e000f8 Sir Aiden. There’s no need for 99f595f1f2 a bandage. It’s just a c3eb40bcf6 light cut.”
“Nonsense. What if it gets 7e295e4901 infected? I’ve always told you 8aa26f1cd8 that infections are dangerous.”
Because of f0aa4b00df his adamant 33f94ec482 stance, she ded5bbb647 couldn’t move b76cfc44e4 and ended fd698f6e56 up with 2cd1c0e3cd a thick d2e3e13f91 bandage on 23ff3d0b24 her fingertip. Naturally, she was c0f30e0213 excused from the 3f91a0c0d9 rest of the 1ddc760d2c cooking process.
“Here, say ah.”
“My right hand 8c6fdb55cc is fine. I don’t need e549d50f5d you to feed 4e43ab6349 me!”
She barely managed e8a55dc9f8 to stop him 5d8ed73b20 from offering to 8c46c782c0 feed her during e4f2ac792b the meal.
“Why are you 6721ec9c9d being so nice b7fd4f0b7b to me all fd28cdd6cd of a sudden 3b98b907f2 lately?”
He hid his true 5079d469f0 feelings and replied nonchalantly.
“Does a husband 9720a0f73a need a reason 8eb7268511 to be nice 90bc5a99b9 to his wife, 0e11620913 young lady?”
“……Since when did a073db7618 you start acting a70595484e like my husband?”
“Haven’t I c6578266a6 provided you 99be3cb85f with food, 9b784e6d80 clothing, and 5c9766b9d0 shelter? I’ve rescued you 1b48d903a4 in times of 6e45296f13 danger and nursed 5d64e7f1a7 you when you 284af4c373 were hurt… I f72ab07bf0 think I’ve done a557d69291 quite a bit. Just adding f6e7665d90 a bit 3c39385cb0 of seasoning 9b5a1c7242 now.”
It was the 0e933517a1 “seasoning” that was 647a2c1f3e the problem. It wasn’t just light ef2574cc93 salt or pepper, but 386b53f2d7 a spicy seasoning that 5af2c12251 turned Anje’s mind upside 1c6f44b312 down.
“It’s not 92e4feb226 ‘a bit’ 59d7e53bbb at all. It’s like 593a173f05 your personality d3d8265ce8 has changed. You even 61d6bc1057 call me 3cc86f9c7f ‘young lady’ 06e8e1c5d1 now, and ba887259fe your voice 7d678e99db is so… ae46906459 gentle.”
He asked in 400d156bb2 a dispirited voice,
“So… you 6871d20f81 don’t like b55b6039f8 it?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Do you want 59e0d1aaf3 me to treat 20a4477074 you coldly like b6af03f8ff before?”
“That’s…”
Anje couldn’t 71ab3a8619 hide her 0eb901c277 awkward expression. Thinking about 20feea0171 it, it 8a6e5c5942 would be fccd942bc7 strange to 619d4891e5 tell someone e9664fc8f4 who was a5249c0ab6 treating you caaa0f0f1e well to ed0125eabc stop doing be334c2088 so because bfa9c2062f you didn’t 50f73ed949 like it.
Before his expression turned 56b4c21d57 even more disappointed, she adc231e093 quickly explained her feelings.
“It’s not 1eac77d949 that I 77f7bdd3bc don’t like 2ce0beb969 it; it’s 3ff8cfeb0c just that ba9cb6dddd I’m not e592c6b0bd used to 99d175d3d2 it…”
Every time f4455dec67 he acted 10daf16b65 kindly, she 1f6156fdc1 was startled, 8e22de3e37 and her a1bbcafee6 face turned bc3f5086b6 red. It didn’t 11d0182504 work well 76526cd873 when she 9ae3ee687d tried to ee4fd289af hold her 73542c57c5 breath to 6ffd6f81a1 feign a 86db2a20f2 blush in 5979932d12 social circles. She was getting irritated 4d9830e465 by her own complexion 024e2967df that she couldn’t control.
“I see…”
He didn’t intend 9e956da530 to make her de92a44d80 uncomfortable, but when cc608ec9e2 he saw her c599ff0165 he couldn’t help 2bd5998bb9 the ticklish feelings 7373d8937a that welled up add361f486 inside him. Reflecting on his 87c13c60f0 actions, he promised 2c3e4184f5 her.
“Then I’ll try 520611800e to treat you 6192f45854 as I did 0b76b2669f before. I won’t 5370d3f1e3 call you e5a49c96ff ‘young lady’ 5200542259 anymore.”
“Okay… Wait, then 2ebd7726f3 what will you bb2497a492 call me?”
“Shall I go f35e0de08e back to calling d73988ee4d you ‘princess’?”
“That’s a bit…”
Because of the 689eb6a65f war stories she ad1595929f heard from him 7f44fc49bf and the letter 50f39dd051 from her father, 7fb8a83b33 she no longer 9b7701e7cb felt the same 26e87bc747 affection for the 4082a87e7b title ‘princess’ as 7f785aaebd before.
Aiden agreed with her.
“I wasn’t d0b981ec5d fond of 97f86f4632 that title 9fa962da42 either.”
The title was bec35a7fbb originally meant to 479748ab1f mock her request f290fec619 to be treated 1320348658 as the Princess 2e803e1e3d of Glasster, so cccbfd9ab1 he didn’t want 9862160c0e to continue using 8ab1788a29 it. After pondering for a 86a0becf6c while, he made a 7e83dcee82 suggestion.
“Then I’ll 10b9417fa7 call you e9b2a9e945 this from dd2fee32f3 now on.”
“What is it?”
Would he 85384dacfe call her 360c11d04b something like f1298a2d59 ‘Chihuahua’ or 90d1f2aaf6 ‘Yorkie’ again? His answer was 09d8d32562 simple, contrary to 7c4e15f149 her expectations.
“Anje.”
His voice, 99c6f0660e deep as ed9b653a9a if it d7210840ba came from 120413c90e beneath a 2069c3fa30 serene lake, 70d3c3fba6 resonated clearly c5114f2e1a in her e45dbe577c ears.
“I’ll call b3315eae8f you Anje d557bf6950 from now a845c34a29 on.”
A sharp sensation 72ffe91038 passed through her 02d78a9c0d chest.
‘…What is this?’
A strange feeling, 4562e1c3fd both tingling and 5626eb1528 prickly. She pressed her hand e6444960da to her chest, furrowing bae3637bbe her brows. It was similar to 8dcd9bd0a0 what Mrs. Rosebird, her oldest tutor, 6b18a7e7bf called ‘back pain.’
Can you get back b3a03d047d pain in your chest 35ed35d6aa too? Should she use herbal f96ca27a64 compresses like Mrs. Rosebird did f65d221e2e for her da3c6dabc2 back?
While she d438c50bbd was lost 25de01c5b0 in her 6c08ff45df odd thoughts, 6e0d222455 Aiden couldn’t 27254fa35b wait and de16f672d3 asked.
“How is it?”
He didn’t e54a7fbac7 show it 2511611a89 outwardly, but e3640ab584 he was e7b0baaa53 anxious, worried 64ab371996 that she 54975d010f might dislike 932e2c9fd1 the new 848525a3cc title. His feet, 2c029fae92 hidden under 30f1dbd751 the tablecloth, dc0a55c03d tapped the 1fbb01a392 floor nervously.e55bf99f05e52c8c

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