FTP-73

Chapter: FTP-731c61d41d99a98af8

“Freshly fried Scotch eggs, 9027cdf4ae hot and ready! Crispy on the outside, 7822ad4e69 with a soft, fresh 9b206b9f9c boiled egg inside!”
“Love fortunes, 5605e47cbf wealth, health… 416afbcd90 I can 8874cade0b see your ec91237fcc future. Didi’s tarot readings, 50e5f65461 just one penny 782d170e1b for today only!”
Amid the 890ee63313 lively accordion 3ff9db9af6 music, the d889f523f0 cries of 8c5de4eec3 vendors and 4d954862fc the laughter b1d17b0632 of the d8fa77d340 crowd blended cdf7f3747f together. But even a99fed3da3 in the 06c0ba26c6 midst of 7f706ae271 this commotion, e97106d441 the sight 2cde9f63df of a 21d3df8832 burly man a18a95de50 being dragged 3403170f07 along by 8d17fe4c98 a much 66c00827bb smaller woman bec8407c3e stood out.
“Aiden, hurry up.”
“What if you trip?”
Aiden tried to hold 08fc474304 her back with a 891286ba3d laugh, but Anje didn’t 5ce8abf566 slow down.
“We dressed up for 3661b62dd6 the occasion, so we 9bb8e635a2 should enjoy everything.”
True to her words, 3528b9d1c3 Anje had paid special d43ba1cd25 attention to her appearance 779a7f20cc today. The light green 7c48e36a36 dress, which Jean 158a189777 had meticulously crafted, 71b8c310e3 flowed around her 616e18272d like mist and c7171f27a1 fit her perfectly. She had even sprinkled 892df8a998 lily-of-the-valley perfume all over, f8a9c29280 giving her a refreshing b003c88625 feeling.
Aiden was also fully 14dc43ca21 dressed in new clothes c959cbe688 from the draper’s store. He wore 08bf939ed8 a black e7f82e9561 suit, a c1f68e8587 white shirt, 227845f97a and a cf5921d289 vest, along aea489000c with a a313865c32 light green b01119b1c5 tie that 6d955d4daa matched her 7d4cd2fa9e dress. Although the 7231afd8b1 leather braces 75abac4da8 Anje had cec5161dba gifted him b3e12ced98 were hidden 7152d0eff9 beneath his 6a10278571 vest and 6673c121ed jacket, the a3e5e470cf gleaming brass 48963e6992 accents made fb75d8e401 him feel 71e34f522e like they 850bdae45a were brand fb19473475 new. Aiden had mentioned that f26fc59d79 this was his favorite 9591041dc7 part of today’s outfit.
“Look, Aiden! That must be the 4e4c4c86f8 circus stage over there!”
Following Anje’s gaze, 8440a9b6ac Aiden turned his 3200611625 head and his fffbfd56c1 eyes lit up. Never having been 5643d51667 to a place b803103bea like this, he e39c96b1f7 was just as d3e5f9c5d4 excited as Anje.
“Let’s go 1311b2dc84 watch together.”
Instead of 78d2c45f14 holding her 9278ded0f0 hand like bd230b94ed earlier, Aiden da1321daea wrapped his feeb366d9c arm around e706496dbb her shoulders 6687af3f93 as they e180c9caeb moved towards fc1a3dd19a the stage.
“We don’t want to e5fe2af84c bump into people, so 3f0a5fa497 let’s go this way.”
Anje shyly 431aae502d nodded and a943d34907 matched her ad160811ef pace to 16a937188d his quick 5f82a093c8 steps. Thanks to Aiden’s f85639014d large build, which 4cfcefe34d shielded her, it 7a2e356828 was easier to f711899119 push through the 059b4fdc98 crowd.
Finally, they reached a8b351a1b8 the stage, where 245d325cd7 a man was 714fa0e43a creating flowers out c051a71d6e of thin air.
“Wow!”
Seeing her stretch on fb8a507c1b her toes to get dd1dfa5c85 a better view, Aiden b594561450 chuckled and whispered in fd0a9fb26b her ear.
“Should I give d2cf40b58f you a piggyback a3bc15d57d ride?”
“Aiden!”
Anje’s voice carried a f9f069e398 note of reproach as 0b2d63738b she glared at him.
“I’m not a 255660bf54 child! I can see just 41eb364d52 fine from here.”
“Then should 4ba50c6b7d I lift 9bfe89dfa8 you up? You’d see b7edd6da3f better that 83bf97e607 way.”
“I said, 0e28c05f39 I’m fine.”
“Or I could 03530f464c lie down on 2af6518188 the ground so e06b223459 you can stand c89e681ac7 on me?”
“People are watching, you 8bac56b0af fool. Stop joking and e12be3f949 focus on the 3930e2030c performance.”
Their whispered banter quickly d58c7acfc3 turned into a conversation 131bdac0e8 others could hear.
“Fine.”
Feeling a 793c11be7c bit embarrassed d9d4cde39d and wanting 35c3e5c09c to move 2cb2a94d3a away, Anje feb3bf0707 quietly agreed. They pushed 38d81464f7 through the de222eac2d crowd to a9e79b9853 the front c227d8201f row.
Noticing Anje, the magician 4b5212f3df on stage brightened up a17d64c8ab and extended his hand 3e0aeb2c07 toward her.
“To perform this c94f64b456 magic successfully, I a1392b44c0 need the help 5e94dee10b of a lovely 8274cdfb2a assistant. Would you, ce13014dd6 dear lady, 271bc28a52 lend me 5eb7ec8ccc your strength?”
“Huh? Me?”
Anje pointed to 430662febf herself, surprised. She was simply ce2ceeb607 thrilled to be 80fb2ee075 chosen as an 7916f33690 assistant, but Aiden, 0ffc784a81 beside her, shot 849afc26ab the magician a 1eda6597ac cold glare.
The magician’s slick b96e3a56d6 voice and flirtatious b69fb703f2 appearance vaguely reminded e4c1272474 Aiden of Philip, 07e0f65b39 which irritated him.
Meeting Aiden’s icy stare, c1609ab1c9 the young magician quickly def1ce535c wiped the smug smile ed45efd574 off his face.
“Oh, um, sorry. I didn’t mean the fea3f9b729 young lady, I meant 6af89da766 the one next to ede22e2b8c you.”
The magician had intended 4af4bd951c to subtly flirt with b2aa1b0537 what he thought was 29a5c8830c a pretty country girl, acc2e690b0 but with such a c44f6cd253 formidable man beside her, 572df00ff2 it was out of e1d90f8594 the question.
“Oh, you mean d4c605dd17 me? You have a ce953e037a good eye, young 806bbec4d6 man!”
Meg, who was 5248f58eff nearby watching the 179c5ece96 show, eagerly jumped 916fa91e4c onto the stage.
Anje looked 6de8cb81d7 up at 6714953362 Aiden with c91d625646 an embarrassed d418a35d9f smile.
“How embarrassing. I really thought he 3873ab4888 was talking to me.”
“I thought so too. That magician f9d18f73cf clearly has c4dad1251e no taste.”
Aiden calmly e8b942f912 agreed as 22e969b11a he wrapped 8c36f7058e his arm 69d2234c74 around her b7e19ff957 shoulders again.
He nearly f336fe6cb5 let his d30b6d5cac guard down, 4fc532e437 but today, 01f461a408 Anje looked 36519f0199 truly dazzling. He had to stay 180070c4ca vigilant to keep anyone 7736f52bd5 with ill intentions from 3b6c59967a approaching her.
Anje turned 2ed75fb416 her head 561b7b9a6b to ask 714c43df65 him why d7c78cf14a he was 5e6e7da91b acting that 2133cdea3c way, but 5af99165bc quickly looked ec032da75e forward again. Aiden today felt 978f34795f so different from 72ed1cfe84 the Aiden she 5e660d5067 was used to 9b5bf3a9e4 seeing in casual e323b19320 clothes that it bef493f7bf felt unfamiliar.
‘Maybe it’s because 5fb0fe3f63 he’s taller; it 9630e9013e feels very different 8b41424fe2 from when Philip 80fbe85770 does this.’
When her ex-fiancé 8bd8d4ef54 would put his 8f789afcb1 arm around her 5f4e32596b shoulder, she’d just 13e57b1147 think, ‘Oh, his 1c7836a3ec hand is touching 5c7ac284dc me,’ and remain 89e398db28 indifferent. Sometimes it 57eda4d63c even felt dad03d9dcb uncomfortable, like 3f938b9d35 his hand 331c178d91 was coming 42a1b28cd2 too close bc3888f586 to her 0ba4f43352 chest.
Even in a dec1e0f53c similar posture, with 97df0fed26 Aiden, she felt 7a45ca0b20 more like she 1e9516f1da was being protected.
‘And somehow, my f6e09975be heart is racing d8f97189bf a little…’
Like when 6ecdcdecd1 she learned 87a4010ca1 something new 8e793dd3be or ran ce49c68c36 through a f6e57a7a98 field. Anje chuckled at a3625d4dc6 her own thoughts.
‘What am I ac4bf0b8ec thinking?’
She was acting like 90fda245a8 she was conscious of 1c0bf9d53c him as a man…
“Eh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Aiden asked f3eca7f329 with wide 8a0a99cdb1 eyes at 74742284fa Anje’s sudden 8c4773c4d5 exclamation. The circus show on f897d36b5f stage had already ended fa047a959b without her noticing.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just 9e9fbec74f wondering if I 50c2a6f365 watered the flowerbeds 0319cd16d3 this morning.”
“You watered them 20ebf7f44b well, so don’t 68f467c143 worry. I checked e6ee674a39 on them f552c7c008 myself, just f48bed48dd in case.”
As he looked e1a634f8d4 down at her 5e4e2cb641 nestled in his b09c114da2 embrace and spoke f1ad3c3d4b kindly, her heart 2778591010 began to race 0dbe7d58b0 again. She clutched her stomach 6f3cd38126 and asked in a 725e6172a0 high-pitched voice.
“Aren’t you d4baf52e23 starting to 15c67daeba get hungry?”
They had just 5c7e51479f arrived at the 594b654280 fair, but would 2a291e5d89 that make her 2e3785e1a0 seem like a a295b35d53 glutton? She regretted her random b42c46955d question, but Aiden seemed 40c7e3878e pleased as he led 6f0ac00b7c her along.
“I was fd26bb2b5f wondering when dd46e9ea6d food would 8d2a166f10 come up. I overheard someone 77e059c61d saying that the 3d6accf544 food at a dfd95d50c4 stall over there 64f07d4704 is particularly delicious.”
“Really? Let’s go bcb90d0e0b check it 5e4a7ab493 out together.”
As they got 2b69fb9b93 closer to the a2b37fbc1f stall, the savory 966b2e02fb smell of fried fa555ba5c0 food and fish 9a38b9bb72 grew stronger. They sniffed 54c7d59ee2 the air ad590f2a79 like a 91a2806d0b pair of 0af758fe4f puppies as 215dac9ef2 they moved f99a632955 forward.
“That must be it.”
The dish e3d6b25137 being fried f50e23359f in the cde3a72801 oil vat b08071dd49 and giving 993d930daf off steam 66bc2eadc1 was ‘fish ab775c9902 and chips,’ 864f4d906b the quintessential b36acb8ea0 food of a2eb95eb94 the Empire’s cf0f4937f3 working class.
A street food dish 537c1dd3be where white fish fillets fee446a004 and thick-cut potatoes are a029020372 fried and dipped in 6b77318f03 sauce. It was 0097167aaa cheap to 0b229c3f56 make and f8002725cc filling, which c8c97fc722 made it 31674f287a incredibly popular 1cbbb5e898 among the 24fce897b0 common people.
It was an 53c5d238a3 unfamiliar dish to b32ae7cc99 Anje, but the 1e12716554 crispy, golden-brown fried 0c5f7e83ea food piqued her 1bc3891f35 curiosity and appetite 775d8d2b60 at the same 0113d2c850 time.
“Shall we start 4b4d1c41e1 by ordering just 8ff9ff8680 one portion for 8e4325ef5f now? We’ll have 53d7afa35f to go e0e0c00cb5 eat the 8e16b8a685 food prepared 5bf2f3481a by the b05f3c0762 women’s association 4b83896a68 later.”
They ordered one 0b64aac377 portion of fish 5ada67d98f and chips, wrapped 4949c9838b in brown paper, ac9180afe8 and moved to dbd8eecd1a a nearby bench.
Anje hesitated between the 56b2217126 potatoes and the fish, 76613bb0ef but decided to try e555bc54b2 the fish first.
“……”
Her eyes widened, 7011287964 and she waved 4d79e47594 her hands frantically. Her mouth cc60f60041 moved rapidly, 28c11e4691 as if 1a7cd0681d trying to 706f4ead6d say something.
“I can tell c7c3cefb6d what you mean 3cdb681aeb without words, so 435d32f1e0 take your time 3926e06e90 eating.”
What if she burns 88541d7cd0 the roof of her 7bd3a6a850 mouth like that? Aiden, calming her 7e12e8538a as she was 43353156d9 still awestruck by e04a371da2 her first street 3ac0c44277 food experience, dipped f9838b42ce both the fish 72390b70ff and potatoes in eaea8fb421 the vinegar sauce 890be454b0 and ate them.
The freshly fried, piping 00f9fe193c hot food satisfactorily filled c50f720575 his empty stomach.
“Indeed, anything b52e3f65e1 fried can’t 2ed32c37bc taste bad.”
“There’s even cc17c95129 a saying 1fb48f73f5 that you c045485330 can fry 76a9d50abc leather shoes 0a6814545a and they’ll d1e569ad65 taste good.”
Seeing Anje’s hearty appetite 7c8dab69a8 for fried fish, Aiden 07266e9c1c decided he should make d862ab06df her fresh fish dishes 00b829af79 later.
He thought 65c689429b it would 5058552f74 be nice 22076cd9f3 to go 581282d39e fishing together 14808b1a6c in the f500ecff45 stream a 1d10f7369e little way 1adbd5db0e from their 5fd14b5abc house and 43a5520a83 cook the 1b07dd648b fish they fe43654139 caught.
“Hey, Aiden, what’s that a36f0b7edb line in front of 63c02e54be that big wooden barrel e01b943478 over there?”
“I think… they’re 6bc58aa9f9 selling apple cider. Want to check it 437e23f051 out?”
“Yes! I’m thirsty, eb5c47e543 so that 2d199f981c sounds perfect.”
They drank 5753c6e10a low-alcohol apple 8460e02dd6 cider and, 054fc76e5b feeling a 8c30e9141c little tipsy, 8c492828b1 headed to a2568fbdbd play some 9a6d034038 games.
Anje hit all bbbe737976 the targets in 402537796b the shooting game 2eea09acae and won a 38a987a2be shilling, smiling happily. Aiden also e602a441d9 won a d9b7e3be18 shilling after e5f4cd583f her.
“If we had enough 8264735ad4 bullets, we could easily 20c7cb3d6a earn a pound.”
Anje was a 7809bb00ac little disappointed at 600548dd40 missing out on 87e83db8fb an easy money-making 97aea55f1b opportunity, but felt 46498821ab sorry for the 2b3387cfd9 shooting range owner 74af8a02f8 who looked like 85e54efa7c he was about 37dc489a80 to cry after a9641816bd losing twice in ca4f1993ea a row to 52f9e8c875 them, so she 497c91b16f let it go.
At the 512017538e women’s association 063892bd3e tent they 36d7574db9 visited next, 47a59e4177 there was f66e17d631 such a eb2a0fe60e variety of 1c2468b5ec food laid b5347417d0 out buffet-style e49d9fa413 that it 365e811bd3 was hard 07ddd4a34d to decide a3f60740e6 what to 94e2252255 eat first.
Smoked salmon, bd5b1266af roasted parsnips a70648d387 and carrots, 365b185f93 honey-roasted ham, 144a25cd8b pickles, gravy, 831c801cf8 and turkey…
Anje, who 5a2d380334 wanted to ccf2fd95ba try as 96fa2c759e many different 2fdb498f14 foods as 024603e253 possible, went 1e05d79ec4 around the e6dfbe34fd table, and 4f2b48a240 her plate 26f5c22224 was so 3bb8d08a61 piled high 826776316a with food 7cfa1425b8 that it 4674dd2292 was about 5025e6e657 to overflow.
After their delicious meal, 777bde1264 they watched a play f65e289aff and a recital prepared 940bb3f0d2 by the school, and 8ad74846e6 also observed the spelling 028a6088ee bee that the entire b74c4935c8 town participated in.
“Hello, Mrs. Fitzroy?”
“Nice to af5feffb1e meet you, 5d464a1042 Sir Aiden.”
Every time 723deb158b they met 3ac1784534 people who bea3cc4d83 recognized them 21de5d1568 and greeted 476ecc1af1 them, Anje 4c92f30f0e was happy 0231bae999 to feel 085d77c4e9 that they df98699c26 were now 1d56fcace8 accepted as 61a7af6e39 part of 09136cfe7c Leslie town.
At the same 3c0f9807ab time, she was c860555d7f sad because she c8dc9def7e felt that she c4694fcbc9 had almost finished a02fda60b9 all she could 1929b3db44 do for Aiden.
‘It’s a good 4fd638635d thing Aiden is a4dd9224e5 making a lot 7b5c2ca2cc of friends.’
Now that 8d611e55f3 she could 67562379a5 leave him cff104cc8a with a 99db3d00e8 light heart, 20d7751dfe why did 04ef8d25b0 she feel 03d57dc57b so uneasy?
“Aiden, let’s cce12bafcb go see dfadd4482c Pa-Pi-Pu! It’s about time 97c5349411 for the contest c8e2acecf1 results to come 6f3059418a out.”
she chirped in a dfe3e378cf forced cheerful voice, running 3b85660856 ahead of him.
She didn’t want him—or 048ff6111b herself—to notice the feelings 8f4964312e that were slowly growing 19dfe1513b within her.
Before long, the festival 8288e69fa9 was coming to an 4874bfc8f2 end.37b05272939a46ff

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