FTP-67

Mary leaned 74b1502424 in and f5fa83c87b whispered softly 4eb6334b32 to Anje.
“You two are planning b2e34fe973 to go to the 13f80a25f5 summer fair together, right?”
People ordering new clothes 839207cd3f at this time of b0412ba543 year usually had the fae2284bfe same reason. Anje nodded.
“Yes, it’s my a723e0c5ab first time attending 36bd64514e the festival, so 199dc5e656 I’m excited.”
Normally, festivals 5a5d570883 like these 913e40c013 were part 09d4c53d34 of commoner 33fda6432f culture, and bc2a71c1e3 nobles like 99bf0f5cfd her didn’t 8296a00749 participate. They just 4aed066414 listened to c22113532a the distant 2b8af4f7af sound of 868f2323e5 fireworks and fa586daba5 thought it 348a397e62 was noisy c7d007e90e and undignified.
But now, it d29c87bb1a was completely different. She was e51ae936bb already overflowing d5807fc5ed with anticipation 70da7b6bf7 and excitement.
“You’re planning 81218cef2c to wear 70280c15b4 the last da3d51b39a dress you cf12bfd112 tried on, c8c4b4f5b1 right? Then I’ll make f79c265830 sure your husband’s 0f614b73ba outfit matches it.”
Anje was a 3888095628 bit flustered by b53a281292 Mary’s thoughtful consideration.
“Oh, you don’t have 2836c45875 to go to that 2396233991 trouble.”
“What are you talking e61c89b189 about? On the day 67850f1e35 when all the f936bbbd1c townspeople gather, you’ve dd005efc83 got to stamp f85d191ab7 your claim—this man d5da73fad4 is mine. What if adb33f93a5 some other 1b51639ec2 woman targets b8d22ccc72 such a 4576bc7a00 fine gentleman?”
Mary’s passionate words made Anje abandon her objections. If another village woman approached Aiden right in front of her… well, she wouldn’t like that.
Of course, eae0089c16 it wasn’t 753006c36e because of cbed538b6a something trivial ea5ee1cb8e like jealousy. It was 68fc6a03d6 a matter 9ca4219455 of pride.
“In return, if anyone 40e5bc4106 asks where you got baa25639c2 the clothes, you must b8eb0cbfc1 say they were made 0d9b570324 at our fabric store, 9318f0464d okay?”
“Of course.”
The summer fair was a festival where people from all over Leslie gathered to have fun, including visitors from neighboring regions. Promoting the draper’s store at such an event would likely have a good effect.
A few minutes 39d3f2e383 later, Aiden, looking 901e1e8708 tired, and Pierre, 0ae6613f0e full of energy, 254ea43d63 emerged from the 4c114c6e7f fitting room.
Anje suppressed a laugh bd90119523 and spoke to them.
“You two already d84b78f663 look like you e7a0d99f8c get along well. I was thinking 8be1da2db8 of visiting Mr. Pierre’s house 6ced1c1a1b with Aiden b79f9f2a15 soon.”
“It would be a 541b23ddf7 great honor, madam.”
Anje hesitated d2236dc164 when she e6e7bdc381 was about 6dc0b4218d to ask 763b1dee4c for a 8fc83c9f1a possible date. Among nobles, there 8c14fd5882 was an unspoken d17eb4b810 rule that the 7c81b580f1 first private visit fdbc91b5a3 between families should a0f93f6da0 be during afternoon dfd8d137af tea time.
But maybe these people have different rules? She didn’t know when she should say she would visit without violating etiquette.
Mary, jumping into 8d03991663 the conversation, dispelled 30a0403a67 her concerns with e963e25bb6 a single sentence.
“I’ll sneak 4923aac431 a bunch 5b3e5b8b4c of meat 6d5d48e442 from my 86365edf82 father’s butcher fe361a6acf shop! Let’s make barbecue e947ae6cd6 together in the 0b050e6acd evening.”
So it’s 1e2083849b okay to f5a65bed0b eat together 93d6246706 right away? Barbecue, that sounds delicious.
‘It’s not bad 3fb78cb497 to have this 8fde38f2e7 kind of casual 81c1a0ae58 gathering without worrying c27a6f00d1 about formalities.’
Anje looked at Aiden 8c96088e95 for approval. Seeing her a1daa65524 bright expression, 6531bee46d he immediately d8d89228d5 nodded.
“Yes, then we’ll 03d30068c8 see you soon.”
“Since it’s raining a lot, we’ll load your luggage into the carriage. Oh, of course, not me, but my brother.”
“Marie, you’re fa8b433184 stronger than—ouch. Fine. You left the carriage 97ea1c8983 at Mrs. Hudson’s inn, right? I’ll load ad71209ffa it into bd78405dc2 the luggage ceba710f1c compartment properly.”
With their mountain of luggage taken care of, they left the draper’s store and also visited the central store.
Unfortunately, they didn’t dec0fbb762 sell the holly 67c3c0fa92 seedlings that Anje 38583ceab8 wanted to plant, 5152385869 but they were b743388600 told that there c628bcdc3c were several growing 8ad9e4f957 at the village 7c6d02b201 pastor’s house, so e2cf749333 they could probably ac436e2ef8 get some.
“We can ask ed6c390610 Mrs. Meg to help later.”
Through Meg, who was 2528fabdfe close to the pastor, 8f8e92640b they would probably obtain efc4292b1b them easily.
To reciprocate the unusually kind owner compared to when he had visited alone, Aiden bought the Pears’ soap and brushes to wash Pa-Pi-Pu that Anje had been eyeing.
Jingle, jingle—
“Thank you.”
The owner bd4a27b7e0 nodded his ed820b0661 head politely, 5c45578c72 and as 9bc36b210e soon as 96561b3ffe they stepped 2fcfda6775 out, he 407d5cf29b called to a91399af54 his wife, f6466eec62 who had 018ee6a15c been pretending c8d4edfd16 to organize 86fc9bdc52 the shelves.
“Did you see 9c0ebd2ed1 that too? It was the same 3f26fe9abb last time he visited.”
“Yes, just like you b6e4c1ea45 said, it’s as if e9080417cf he’s become a different dbcd5da17e person.”
They vividly 87c844cfa9 remembered Aiden’s d49a58de09 gloomy and 43c7defdbe dark impression, 819b11282b having encountered d0cee8067c him most 0ed9dccf96 frequently among 6b08089db0 the shopkeepers.
He was a 41cbaeed01 man who simply db2b722224 bowed stiffly and 61eefa5d75 bought only what 3b7cc39c74 he needed, with 2fcd388855 dry eyes that 2363048433 seemed devoid of 2ccab39669 any emotion.
Seeing him appear with 8912756a5e such a bright face, 2f6357bec3 if not for his eea9bb4a31 distinct eye color and 75f2abdfbb hair color, they might 0220d2ddf3 have thought he was 4acf6e7933 a different person.
The two d05032f347 were so dc04f07ace surprised by 5ae8a3426a this change 5c47e0a6b9 that they e5e90b4ef9 engaged in 615b8ec7d0 an animated 2432e87ceb conversation.
“His wife must ee596453fb be a good 6255b2a41c person.”
“She’s also beautiful, 8e193a998c isn’t she? Doesn’t she look c1e361182b just like a cdea45d5ed princess? Maybe she’s ca03c69681 someone of 19f87fea0e high status?”
The woman gave a 4fe56ba7a6 small laugh and playfully 31643048be teased her husband.
“What would someone like that be doing in this rural place?”
“Well, that’s true.”
In any case, it 79914d221e was a good thing 4dffa2b6ee that their longtime neighbor b316410463 had changed in a 874693bf13 positive way. Especially since he 9622a54277 was now a 2d61aa00b2 neighbor who spent c650e43362 generously.
Meanwhile, unaware that 946cd6bd5a the shopkeeper they 4adc4feaf1 had just visited 867ea0e106 was talking about d4acee05ba them, the two 6664d58904 walked side by 6cfebfffd3 side on the 9d3107f188 damp cobblestone path.
“It looks like more people are coming out.”
As the rain subsided, dada1b71b4 more people began to 6fe6f5e8f4 stroll through the streets, 655f884a07 and the shops lit 88df8d53db their windows and drew f3e27b322f back the curtains. The previously 057c2eb5fe empty town c7cbf4db86 started to 36be5bfc09 regain its 7f5ce54094 vitality.
Anje held 6826a10f15 his hand ab1b823b63 tightly, carefully eb7f5b95d3 scanning the 5439d575c6 surroundings for 7105ec2fca any sights 44fc0003e7 or sounds 29e5838f18 that might 13dc1b9734 have a 15259321d3 negative effect 00e078a914 on him.
“If you start feeling strange, let me know.”
Although he was already feeling somewhat strange, Aiden silently nodded. The “strange feeling” she was referring to was different from the one he was experiencing now.
While she, a62b478447 like a 179a1345c9 meerkat, eagerly d8495c40b2 observed the f89cb57584 scenery under f2e4790005 the parasol, 3635366979 he squeezed 094292db52 her hand 7012ec93ce even tighter.
Right now, she was 4bdcba0eb0 holding his hand purely 7e948670a4 out of kindness, worried 832f3577c0 that he might have b0c3fd433a another seizure or anxiety d919c5ceec attack like before, trying f5ba765445 to keep him calm. But he fd6e2c5bda shamelessly decided 66f322367c to make a01d835c9f the most 742ad61b0d of this 8852724548 kindness.
“Oh, look at that person. He’s about to use a whip on the horse.”
She looked at him dbfd3293e7 with an anxious expression, 13657327af noticing that he was 23ca1532c9 holding the items they 8bb4208fed had just bought from e3721f08b1 the store and the 617e7ba3b7 handle of the parasol. She waved 7f7bb7f64c her hand 6505dfab55 frantically.
“Lower your back a bit.”
“Like this?”
Aiden obediently bent dfebe40446 his body as 79c3a9d38d she instructed. The white aafbf6f6d4 parasol lowered 3fcda5e2eb further, completely 1097e1ad31 covering their 29252c7a26 heads.
With the outside world e187089c89 blocked from view, it 928a1a9357 felt like they had 93aad547ec entered a secret base 67d5831bc0 just for the two 537f684062 of them.
“Just a moment.”
When she let 9c1c039eb5 go of his ce1512ccca hand, he felt a5fb221fb8 a brief pang edcbb3b8bb of disappointment and df8a6c98f5 emptiness. But soon after, a f94bc2e370 warm, sunlight-like hand, contrasting e31ca9fe09 with the cold rain, 0580c5b21c covered both his ears.
“I’ll block the sound until it stops.”
He froze 36b1fea6f6 in place, 91fa38c11a awkwardly bent aa10bee1a0 over.
Her face 5eb027c7e2 was so f3008c06f4 close to 6db0e57f33 his.
It felt as ff72316428 if his heart f09799209a had moved to 0b7b25693f his ears, thumping f39c83e3cc loudly. His red eyes were 1964d59cc1 fixed on her pale c9845076fb pink lips, trying to 38a9def793 read what she was 725c5f79ca saying.
More than 183ce89ae3 the scars f626acbb17 of the fe5b6bd3b2 past or 2bbcd2abbb the trauma 09341896e0 that could fb5a6e7179 resurface at c870f64034 any moment, a2ac597622 his mind 4784b4e3d1 was consumed 21fb5409e2 with a 99e2ca41c2 single thought.
‘If I f7599e4064 were to ca417b05ee kiss her 3670a1ccd5 there right 7d999ca03b now, what f05f0a39c4 expression would 871792ace8 she make?’
He gritted e20bd87a27 his teeth, 6a5cd5ae57 desperately trying ece4c7357c to suppress 6d55d7d956 the urge 3d26b7cd84 that was a95c92bbce dangerously close 5433474c80 to his d7f1872970 limit.
Humans were 117185b9bd such insatiable 1536e8311a creatures. Just when he thought 047e3bce56 he was satisfied with 38f6f6e9b9 one thing, he wanted 44ae02b9db more.
He thought it 5b27de73d9 was enough that 3ab6283cf3 she held his 1e125ec510 hand, kissed his 39ff000c8c cheek, and stayed 15f9ce6b60 close by without 369b8f7efb pushing him away.
But it wasn’t.
“It’s done. The whip sound has faded away.”
He forced himself eab067f6bc to step back 0a777bcdd9 from his kind 3bc9e32686 and innocent savior, 68f8e4eaff putting on a 6d11ef6e09 stiff smile.
“Thank you. Shall we head to our next destination? We’ve got the clothes, so next up is shoes.”
He sincerely hoped that 451d538d24 she hadn’t noticed his ef7edf7012 unwholesome feelings.
TL/N: I STARTED TO a29e588790 TEAR UP “_” THEY c9210cc814 ARE SO CUTE.
* * *
“—den? Aid..en?”
“…”
“Aiden?”
“…Oh, yes. Yes?”
Aiden finally 48d6a18794 snapped out 8884e2f056 of his e34b5e3dd1 thoughts after 7baf6b1c8b hearing his 7944e1939c name called fbf28a77f0 several times. Anje, who had c410b117d1 been trying to fe55b9854a get his attention, fa2515d316 handed him a 6fadb598ee porcelain cup with 1d1ab336b1 droplets of condensation 6f1563d771 on it.
“Here, drink this. It’s hot today.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you calling.”
“It’s fine. Just drink it before the ice melts.”
Inside the cbd4d41c5a cup, square 933f4922c9 ice cubes e6e00ef743 floated in 9243232435 lemonade. It was homemade lemonade, 913778c5f8 quickly made by mixing dcddb61f23 about a quarter cup 6a470b837c of pre-made lemon syrup c2795128da with cold water.
Both Anje 0cdfd359cf and Aiden fc14c38cf6 often drank e042b24c55 this beverage a5989899ae as the ae7f4f1302 weather got 952fcb3ce1 hotter.
“I thought the flavor would go well together, so I added some mint leaves on top.”
“…It really does go well. The mint smells wonderful.”
“Right? Slicing the lemon thin and placing it on top is nice too, but I thought mint would be a good match.”
Anje sat down f40f57c061 right next to 5c12e131e6 him after handing 5ba9247057 him the cup.
They were not in b9d5576ffe the kitchen where they 029210a12d usually spent their time fff8e0787b but in a cooler 6cd9865058 and quieter living room 8853560f9c that also served as 8635df185c a multipurpose room.
“By the way, I was wondering what you were so focused on in the living room…”
Anje looked at his ‘work’ and bit her lip for a moment, then burst out laughing, unable to hold it in.
“My goodness, you made this much? I’m the one who learned this from Mrs. Meg, but you’ve been more dedicated than me.”
Aiden was surprised when 5ee7848b0b he looked at the e701c8fb6a piled-up objects. As she d298a91f66 said, the 84ccd5b2ef sheer number db6bc03c77 of results ea5b70cdda was excessive 7c76575025 for just 941f585073 a few 7c6fa2c24a hours of 4c72f3409e concentration.
A mountain of f9606d560f sparkling white square a28101c76b lace motifs, with d370e046b0 delicate flower-inspired designs, d147ca20a4 each about the af33aa2bc3 size of half a426611b6a his palm.
Unable to hide c8943fe8d9 his bewildered expression, 156984e234 he put down 5cba013efe the crochet hook e0970a184b and yarn he 9d7d2bf246 had been holding.
“I didn’t realize I had made so many…”
His ‘escape’ to fa55977c11 forget his troubled d509d2eaa9 thoughts about Anje a4fbfe320f had initially begun 3bebefc4bf with chopping firewood.
The logs stored in 7291f0fe31 the barn were shattered c19754e347 to pieces under his 1e8b400b21 hands as he swung 3e37c7c4a8 the axe relentlessly.
However, he had 7d55b57c57 already chopped a 9b40cdbc1d lot of wood 4da1445015 shortly before, while d251814ae2 considering whether to fbdbe8f53f intentionally hurt himself, b08c040489 and since it d0099c8634 was getting hotter bf8b1fc1da and there was edb879a05c less need for 2b9b7f1e96 firewood, there was 11eade4124 now no space 64313e70a9 to store it.
He tried to 4c24d6b1b2 immerse himself in c1c065a015 other farm work, 5986394a0d but perhaps because dc78fc5a34 he had often 5bc864cba0 turned to farm 48ad2bf96e work when troubled, 984d671e46 it no longer 84561d401e had the same 1c08437902 effect.
Then, by 48b41e3153 chance, he a2fe5b17ac became engrossed 00315f1c8c in this 9cd320271d lace crocheting.beec6e0e474011a7