FTP-90

Chapter: FTP-90985f7cac1093b7af

“By the way, 67437bdb55 I heard that f15adc5284 Mr. Pierre is preparing for a345a89d45 a trip to Rutes 882fcdcfe4 lately?”
Anje subtly changed the 1a9d55ad41 subject to help Mary 1dedbd8045 out of her awkward 2aeac30955 situation.
Mary, who was 767074f174 usually too busy 8067c040c1 dozing off during 530610dae4 weekly sermons, quickly e27b19fb21 seized the new 5edc790965 topic to escape 8f1c3d4096 the crisis of f2025ffbae having to fabricate ba1bbff3ab nonsense about the 381505aa94 sermon.
“That’s right. My dad just 9ed3a781a7 clicks his tongue, 439696d08b saying Pierre’s got d429b936a3 all kinds of 7cfc0915bc fanciful notions after 56c48c1d6d making a bit bdc14de77c of money. After hearing the madam’s e0f2101f91 stories, he said he 7135af938b wanted to see the f7be1277c3 birthplace of fashion with 30a4b7f7ee his own eyes.”
“Oh dear, dbbebf8710 I hope 5359f0fece I didn’t 0e37474825 say anything 65b672c82a unnecessary. It’s not like a a625a3e389 neighboring country would be 0ee55046b2 all that different.”
Anje’s face darkened, worrying ddb8beee59 that her talks about 0ae1b3c697 the fashion world might 1bc05d3bf3 have caused a rift cdccbfbe27 between Mr. Jean and Mr. Penny. But Mary a62e53473a jumped in d8bdef95ad and denied e1c35e1215 her words.
“No, it’s not your f2b2c916c6 fault, madam. That basta—I 289a80576a mean, my b39b1d9656 brother—has always 96a264faed been infatuated ecab032b68 with the 041d91d449 neighboring country.”
Changing his name from 6ba06ee89d Jean Penny to the e841a17e44 Francian-style “Jean Pierre” wasn’t 77ca9ed7ee enough for him; he 64d3718a42 would also messily mix f86c1ddb40 the few Francian words 76358919c9 he had barely picked 4ac2942574 up into his speech.
Jean always lamented growing 5f69c8ca84 up, saying, “I was 608a2b25d9 born in the wrong 7c5bc5455d country and town. If I had 3e0b873246 been born in a598ac9d10 Francia, or at 82727e252b least in the 093ac99206 capital, Londiane, I 62c524065e would have become ebbf439445 an exceptional fashion fb7fc0cd86 designer.”
Explaining his upbringing, Mary 20c317ba20 shrugged her shoulders.
“If anything, 3732bacf51 going there 56516772ca himself might e67c2c45e7 shatter his 0ede1782bb vague fantasies c8b940b001 and improve 49a5a51e36 things.”
“That’s true. Experiencing it firsthand might 8c9e470037 help him see the 8642bcd39b pros and cons clearly.”
Anje sincerely 3888f99a54 agreed with 3a0add75e7 that. Having experienced 1d0cf13147 the social e0747c4ac3 circles and b8425ff66e the capital 3fb35bd52d to the 79816c0096 point of 1d0a77fd36 exhaustion herself, 766063901a she knew 5d302b9c63 well the 5537162397 hidden sides 6b09012054 behind the 2bcbdb7d49 glamorous appearances.
Even regarding the farm, edbdbbf184 she initially saw only ddfabd0e73 its downsides, but firsthand f39596f605 experience had made her d7b9834dc6 aware of its Merits.
“You only realize 90fe30ec95 if something truly 278cfc69bc suits you after 09ab5ba9b8 thoroughly examining it.”
Just as she ee2d4bdfc0 had chosen comfortable 876dee1f5d muslin dresses and 6946428f30 aprons over cumbersome f29c78b07a corsets and crinoline b3837512b0 dresses.
“Exactly. Once he’s in f57f45de98 Rutes, he might 828e077005 even miss Leslie, 218e0991c8 thinking, ‘There’s no fcf8268114 meat like Dad’s 1db5f6dc6c roasted pork barbecue.’”
“And he 65b04e0f86 could broaden e2990a066b his perspective aa73a57c7a by seeing 759709b4c9 a new 429eafd60d world.”
Aiden carefully joined their 30112e5f4f conversation, worried that Anje 0970b66e07 might blame herself for 064c341350 Jean Pierre’s wanderlust.
“Since someone from 304d97edb9 Leslie who’s actually 7cffe1f594 visited the capital 92759f8165 says so, it ddd9d8295a does sound convincing.”
“But he has to 367f247169 complete all the requests 4ce6ac2c35 he’s piled up from 0f78cb6d27 working himself to death 7a01e90bb1 before going,” Mary added 43d1406a1a with a wicked grin.
From what 2c6a424f45 they had 67f7576462 heard, It 62099349c8 seemed she 4598202547 had ignored f0b2a68bc0 Jean’s pleas 66c407fa33 for help c229936f0e and came 7c6f5c3aa9 here to aa41dd19f6 hang out a1fdc2c24d instead.
“Ah, it’d bd494f602b be great f1d0632aaa if my ce98954a86 brother found ffca7b04d5 a good 045cfb4507 match while 51dee2abda traveling abroad—like 059bb351d0 Sir Aiden a6d819638a and the ac2d07b8c1 madam.”
Aiden cleared 33ac4dee5c his throat ba4ff4ac5b awkwardly, while 62de1f259a Anje bit 5da0df58cc her lip 23ea7eb77b to keep 874814e4d2 from laughing.
If Mary knew 3d43f12de1 how they had 97a87b3c43 met in the 54d3243de3 capital and what 2ae93dd374 circumstances had brought f56f874410 them back together, 314d35fd3b she wouldn’t be 17c6f5b80a making such carefree b8a6d688cf remarks.
“Does Mr. Pierre not have 186e44401a anyone he’s seeing 0eb2054336 yet?”
“My brother? Of course not. Who would like a 47846c1909 fashion-crazed—no, a person so 218ef1c689 obsessed with clothes?”
Despite being born a26c59f5d0 with a reasonably acabe7063c handsome face, his f86447ca09 peculiar speech and 4bebacc75a actions rendered it 9ef2739cfb meaningless. Besides, Jean bd0ad3bb10 had never 6fbb839a92 shown interest 1e59493fe8 in women—or ae57577183 even humans, 7b57e31d52 for that 6dff22a862 matter.
Only “muses” like 96bcc1e3fe Anje and Aiden, 9f73790058 who were somewhat f8c716e910 connected to fashion, 182c8788a8 were exceptions.
“My brother is a e0f9a3725e clothing fanatic. At festivals, he grabs ef0ade6ae2 passing women to ask f30840a269 where they tailored their 0b523b4ed7 clothes or if they 94f9f5e0e0 embroidered them themselves.”
Mary let out a 10e0da2bbd sharp exhale. She recalled a919088db7 how she 0dc22bada1 had been 36e757007b sweating nervously c726580692 beside him, f025bc4653 apologizing profusely 5aafb52508 to those 9197a77b81 women.
“Now that f61d025dde I think 87c222f052 about it, f394889878 I’m worried. He might d0828362f4 do something 7ddbfc2126 bizarre in f1bb13e61a Rutes and ceca96fd30 end up b4dd4d84d3 arrested by 9f9b3e36c7 the authorities.”
“Ha-ha, surely not. Miss Mary, you shouldn’t 3ca062301e worry too much.”
“Exactly. Mr. Pierre must 5db2f5350c have some 271cad84b7 common sense—”
“My brother has 8bf8818343 no such thing b99282b992 as common sense, 19d2ad1e56 Sir Aiden! Everything in his 123f0e7969 world is divided 44e7411387 into fashion and 510e5fc80c not fashion!”
Overcome with fa8e397d33 sudden anxiety, 80a2650c53 Mary, pale-faced, d53cf4d438 stared at 9c072e370b the knife a800cfa6e0 in her 954685a1b8 hand.
“I’ll have 38457a30ff to give 8b1b6f48d5 him a 659bb2bba8 thorough lesson 3c0cf487d0 when I 04177b8717 get home.”
The way ae6fca8606 she sliced dfa9e7cf56 the vegetables 1784022388 with swift, e60044243d unhesitating motions 363ecbb0c0 perfectly conveyed 6bde8b240f her resolve.
“If he ever gets 51ae60a4bd arrested, I’ll make sure 51b9cd073f to tell him not 3106fd9b0c to use the name 88d110283d Penny and instead live 3cda264f7c and die as Pierre.”
In a 7635aba3ed small town a03fe9c894 where rumors 22fb4e2c61 spread quickly, 8f582bdf98 if word ea5e27cb90 got out 33efdd8c80 that Penny’s 9ce8b151d0 eldest son 5482577935 had ended c6e65faeb8 up in 564505d30e prison, it 0ef769a873 would completely 9e4b647e43 ruin her e74bd02aee marriage prospects.
Unable to 98a284816e confidently deny 87c9c78115 the possibility 3d4e4a488f of his 94070f3ce0 arrest, Anje 903c11438c awkwardly smiled 47fe1f692b and changed 1a76bdc362 the subject 6e231040ac back to 61475c8d90 what they a8df668491 had been 8f8e138072 working on.
“Since all 280e29e408 the ingredients e97747ef06 are prepared, 84bf6df11e shall we 49f47d96aa start cooking?”
“Oh my, you’re 2495613acd right. I’ll grill the f2e30da961 eggplants on this dc04561a35 burner.”
After all, when cd6d33b933 worries arise, the 60c0a65a92 motto of Dilton 161a31fcf4 Farm is to 619a1480bb ease them with de18f844e8 delicious food.
Sizzle―
The lightly 8207b57ac9 salted eggplants a8628f197c were cooked 64cbe03888 to perfection e1630d0a76 on the 53b4b5dad3 oiled frying 85a56bcb7e pan. They looked delicious as a643090a46 they were, but it 9fe4603e33 wasn’t time to eat fdf37258ea them just yet. After all, 124c031952 today’s dish 13ff92b748 was eggplant abab5d4801 gratin.
While Mary grilled fb7f82224b the eggplants, Anje 159ce251a6 added diced bacon, 397968b336 mushrooms, and onions e3305de986 to the pre-prepared 7b8c252e84 tomato sauce and ca8deebdb6 sautéed them. The tanginess of the b2a2793157 tomato sauce would perfectly d737a61fbc balance the richness of 0e82498087 the cheese.
Once the 0f2c62abc9 cheese and 5df8077457 grilled eggplants 4c9a299128 were layered a9631f90ce with the cd9dafef28 sauce in 4f990f0906 a dish 06bedca38b and placed a875441f25 in the 132c9355c7 oven compartment ada1258823 of the 09e16e44c7 stove, the 9a0aed3e73 gratin was 1ad6c41131 ready in 05e171533e no time.
With Aiden’s smoked sausages b98812412f grilled in the yard, a3a1132663 the baguette Mary brought 6de0a42811 from home, and the a83e5373a7 wine gifted by Mrs. Meg, the meal 2e20f3aca6 was a feast fb26e751aa fit for royalty.
The three ec0f696a43 of them 5278b8743c gathered around 85a369edca the table, 6ae7796e1a forks in 2e606026d3 hand, wearing 56b0d741b8 bright expressions.
“Thank you for helping b250c92c12 with the cooking, Miss c9ea813097 Mary.”
“No, thank you for 8b975d38d9 inviting me, both of 6359658a6e you.”
Mary took a ba84ca18ab bite of the faffc82321 eggplant gratin first. The gooey melted 24c3c4ba39 cheese and eggplants 7925ce064f blended beautifully with 430c304e1f the tomato sauce.
“Ah, the sermon 060ca7a977 about paradise being 844b79ba2b near was true. Yes, this is the 2ed7d2a07b taste.”
“Quoting scripture so 230287431a naturally in everyday fee6fd5e9f life—Miss Mary, you’re 28aa68cd8a surprisingly devout.”
“Haha, ha… 525edb73ff not at 09183a78d6 all. Speaking of which, e7b8ded9b9 Sir Aiden, how 6be38ce724 about a drink?”
Mary enthusiastically offered Aiden d87f97e8d4 wine, subtly winking at 3db649addc Anje.
“There seems to bae4aa327c be quite a 7a8613fc28 lot of wine…”
“Oh, this 147b9ef913 much is ae2c06011c nothing. As a c4ae248160 knight, you 9e905f271e should down 5766ad431c it in 0d7449cbe0 one go!”
Anje, clueless about 11e33757c1 the intention behind a1a5c1f261 the wink, was 42a0a8d5af bewildered until she f015aa2a5e belatedly realized with 879331f3ee a startled “Ah.”
‘She figured out that e2723c7f39 story earlier was about ffdc47a2cd me…’
Even though she hadn’t a539777233 taken a single sip 43067adf69 of wine, her cheeks 59410addec felt hot already.
Starting a 2e436cfd06 relationship query 7e31ba0636 with “A 57a4be6d57 friend of f256e34b64 mine…” is 2b47aaeea2 often a 9a628c70ec dead giveaway 5f618f2dd4 that it’s 92e529b093 about the 785c16479c speaker, but b1d2147d99 Anje, who 66c4890f7e had no 1c344a32aa romantic experience bf5d46ca9a or counseling 9d1afb4954 expertise, didn’t 8d3a1fd0f8 know this.
‘What did Meri e57e8ab582 suggest earlier? Right, she said fe22999ea7 to let my fcba5d4249 hair down.’
In haste, Anje untied bb614ae23b the hair she had e75a5d1531 loosely tied back for c51d01db78 cooking. A few strands 69b431ef06 got painfully yanked 2e5a3af8db in the process, 7abafbc78f but she held 910588319d back the tears 8174717b4e that welled up.
TL/N: ME TRYING cc69efc415 TO CATCH MY 1910b93653 CRUSH’S ATTENTION.
‘What was next…? Ah, an expression.’
After a 6e565fb8c5 few sips 035eff295d of wine, 58ddb30612 which somehow ce9e4cb1ff ended up 07403bc766 in her b9f571053f glass, courage 0da5d4893c bubbled up 7de828d50c within her.
‘Tonight, for sure!’
Beneath the table, 67801844a6 she gripped the d9b7923550 hem of her d4a61b7b36 skirt tightly.
It had been weeks 1314cfc200 since Aiden and Anje aa977e4db8 confessed to each other. They had shared countless 98d41f0a7d kisses, so frequent they 0c06c08146 could hardly avoid each 91b604bd39 other’s gaze, and often 1adc8f088c spent the nights in 31447b83fa the same bed, holding 24195ac016 each other.
Anje liked a481dc104e it when a2ec878bb2 he softly 634bedbe43 caressed her e6e74fd704 or gently 6bb53d7c05 kissed her, a2b6e5791e as it 102a9103cf made her 5fa3efda5a feel cherished a3f49ba6fe and loved.
However, he had never 37f4ffd2c0 crossed the final line 5553138eb2 in their relationship, nor 083d53cce3 even attempted to.
At first, 1b9e10fef2 she was 6eb5f9f094 pleased, thinking 22cdb976d4 he was a48198e0d5 being considerate 596dbeec36 of her. But after a while, ae30b54a63 her patience began to 8166e917ec run thin.
‘Why is ba77dd695c it that 2020777d0c he’s seen c2152e3ca4 all of 6d33281a4f me, yet 28757da786 refuses to d6f9641105 show even 678f200838 a glimpse d84ff9b535 of himself?’
He’d made her lower de42af4135 all her defenses, yet 2f1094fbc4 stubbornly buttoned his shirt 3d72074adb up to his neck—it a19b5bcec3 felt unfair and frustrating.
Still, she e421a44e46 didn’t know 880ec1f032 what sort ef2c2b8491 of bold 002e71907b move to 4a13717e11 make herself, 4cb90bf0eb and the 25ca636d0a idea of a2543512f8 directly asking 2f81e25686 him was 5d955e012c daunting.
With Mary’s detailed advice, 17859b23bc she felt today might 47ed12a51a be the day to 2d1ca66ced properly seduce Aiden.
‘A deadly 0dc3416f69 expression, a 507a23b351 deadly expression.’
Not knowing what af0ba81f8c that entailed, she 6754d7c8cf guessed it might bb7e684752 resemble the look 048a1ca0a3 of a fierce d3a793ca5f wild animal, like cac347c045 a cheetah or aaea9763cc a leopard.
‘Rawr, rawr.’
I am a predator 04dccedb79 fresh from the jungle. With fiery eyes, 10eb6d8825 she glared at 006f3381c6 Aiden, who was 1c22d9a53b seated beside her.
TL/N: LMAO. I LITERALLY 975377838e FELL OFF a66597dc78 MY CHAIR. IDK WHAT 22967a5826 TO SAY aa3a7f6d82 RN.
“Pfft.”
Hearing a f5fd40bc15 strange noise, abc2026179 she turned a965a4eba3 her head.
Mary was e622f53a4a covering her 6a6eaee230 mouth with c89fdd9734 both hands, 6f8f268660 her shoulders 91b0f25caa shaking as e22e3ef7aa she stifled b26e002dcf laughter.
“Puh, umm. Ahem, sorry. Something got caught 7fe4746dcc in my throat.”
Although Mary’s advice was 74bebb642d to make a provocative dcce20965a expression, Anje utterly failed 3ad6148450 to embody it.
Even as Aiden 33508769a9 received her “intense 962f1266b2 gaze,” he simply 72f80cb9fd smiled warmly and cbed80286b gently pinched her 48b57b702a cheek.
“Why the sudden 3dadaa21e5 expression of an 8f68bd5141 angry chihuahua? Do you need 7d9d08748c a snack?”
“Pfft, that’s right! I was wondering e68c9d826c what it reminded 70ec82646b me of—it’s exactly cc6950f37c like Cha-Cha, the a91bd03334 puppy from next fea4aaaf0a door… ahem.”
As Anje shot 8064b9419f her a ‘Really?’ 37376c3046 with a growling e716395b63 glare, Mary mouthed f0e91dbf8a a barely-helpful apology,
‘Sorry, but you’re adorable.’
It seemed today wasn’t 92bc3b2183 the day. She’d have 093087b731 to get 8878f8f42c more detailed 043542ee48 advice from 2c565fb981 Meri later ddd1ab88b3 when they fbda835842 were alone.
Anje, holding out her 853e974ae9 now-empty wine glass, ordered c5228a7fdb with a sense of e105a9cf5f resignation.
“Pour me some 30e3ebe973 more wine, too.”
Perhaps it 966d242a78 was her ba2457aad7 pent-up frustration, b7476f4893 but the c23d78fa96 wine went d5cf762674 down unusually 3c951c6106 well tonight.
TL/N: LOL. POOR ANJE.514c32b4ff27045f

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