Anje, delighted to hear the description of Mrs. Meg, asked happily.
“Then would it be okay if I asked her to do my laundry while she’s here?”
“There’s no difference in cost for one or two people, so it doesn’t matter.”
Anje, who had been so excited that she was about to clap her hands, stopped.
“But… don’t you hate having other people come to your house?”
That’s why he didn’t have any servants, right? It was strange that he, who always lived in seclusion, would call someone else to his house, no matter how much of an emergency it was.
“I can put up with you now, can’t I? It’s just Mrs. Meg.”
Anje picked up the flowers that were left on the plate and threw them at his head. He didn’t dodge them and took the flower shower submissively.
“By the way, that’s a compliment.”
“Which part of what you just said…? Oh, if it’s for the dishes, I’ll do them. You go up and rest. You said you shouldn’t get wet.”
Pushed outside, he slowly went up to his bedroom and ruminated on the past.
His words a moment ago were cynical, but it was true that thanks to being forced to spend time with her, his wariness of others had decreased compared to before.
‘Murderer.’
He had returned safely from the battleground, but he still couldn’t escape the echoes that still reverberated in the dark prison.
When he faced others, he stiffened, conscious of how they might think of him. He quickened his pace, afraid that they would smell the stench of sin on him, and his gaze remained fixed on the ground.
He was especially bothered by the looks of pity or suspicion that rained down on him, especially when he had unexpected seizures.
‘He must be crazy.’
‘Shhh, don’t make eye contact.’
For a while, he was dominated by a sense of powerlessness, feeling like he was isolated in the world without anyone who understood him.
The world seemed to be going on without a problem, and he alone seemed to be suffering from this pain.
It was hard to get out of bed, get on the floor, or even breathe normally.
‘I thought it might be better to be sent back to the battlefield,’
There, he had a mission to fulfill, and there was less time to think.
It was ironic. When he was in the enemy territory, he was eager to go back, but once he was back in his home country, he felt like he didn’t belong.
The seizures themselves gradually improved as he took care of the dilapidated house and fields in Lisle, which had been neglected since he had been in the capital, but he still found it difficult to meet people or do things with them.
He did everything he could by himself in his own house, and minimized contact with people when he did go out to town.
And that’s when he met Anje.
‘Should I call it fate, or misfortune?’
She had many flaws, but she had one definite strength: ‘honesty’. On her face, which revealed her emotions without hiding them, there was a growing sense of trust and intimacy towards him.
As he was forced to spend time with her, his fear of others gradually faded.
Thanks to Anje’s silly and innocent behavior, he rediscovered the laughter and sense of humor he had forgotten.
‘I could never tell her this, but.’
Just as he had taught her about cooking, farming, and livestock, she had taught him something too.
Something so valuable that it couldn’t be paid for by just taking his place in the burn.
* * *
“Hello, Pa-Pi-Pu?”
Anje stroked the pigs that came up to her three times each fairly. Since they would squeal in protest if there was any difference in the number of strokes, she had to give them love equally.
“What kind of person is Mrs. Meg, I wonder?”
Well, the little ones wouldn’t know. It was said that Mrs. Meg had worked here a long time ago.
Anje let her imagination run wild.
“Could she be a beautiful and elegant lady? Or maybe a strict and scary governess?”
Considering that Aiden had warned her not to be rude to Mrs. Meg, it didn’t seem like she would be the type to bow her head like the maids or servants who worked at the Duke’s mansion.
“I’ll be fine, won’t I?”
“Oink!”
“Thank you.”
She leaned in to kiss Pu on the forehead, but then wrinkled her nose at the pig poop stuck behind his ear.
“Ugh, you three need a bath.”
She’d have to ask Aiden to clean the pigpen later and wash the pigs too. He’d pretend to be reluctant, but he’d help if she kept pestering him.
“But his injured hand needs to heal quickly first.”
It must have been difficult for him to get dressed and washed with only one hand, and his non-dominant hand at that, which is why he came down later than usual today.
‘Would you like me to help you get dressed?’
‘Sure.’
If she had looked closely at his face as he turned his head sharply and spoke curtly, she would have seen that the tips of his ears were flushed red from the morning sun.
Unfortunately, she missed that scene because she was busy making an exotic carrot salad called “carrot rapé.”
The crunchy vegetable dish, made by grating carrots and tossing them with mustard sauce, was a refreshing taste perfect for spring.
Bang-dang!
The pigs all turned their heads at the unfamiliar sound that came from somewhere.
“Oink?”
“What is that sound?”
Anje went out to the path leading to Aiden’s house, where the sound was coming from.
Bang-dang!
The source of the sound, which echoed deep into the forest, was the bell hanging from the donkey’s neck.
Bang-dang!
Anje froze in place when she saw a donkey approaching from a distance and a woman riding on its back.
‘Could this be Mrs. Meg?’
The woman, who looked to be in her late fifties or early sixties, wore an old-fashioned hat that could have been a hundred years old, and around her neck was a lace shawl that was clearly handmade.
The dark indigo cotton dress was simple and plain without any embellishments, but the presence of the hat and shawl was so strong that it was hard to see well. In addition, she was even holding knitting in her hands.
Her rosy, round face was full of smiles, reminiscent of a kind earth goddess, and her sturdy knees looked strong enough to support two children climbing on them.
“Come on, let’s go a little further, you slowpoke.”
Anje flustered at the fact that the donkey and the woman were coming towards her, and she touched her hat and apron.
Knowing that guests were coming, she had put on the best-looking dress from her modest wardrobe.
However, Mrs. Meg was a completely different person from the people Anje had met in high society, and she was at a loss as to how to greet this different kind of guest.
“Hello, young lady? The weather is nice today.”
Fortunately, Meg greeted her first. Anje tried to answer in a similar tone.
“Hello, are you… Mrs. Meg?”
“Yes, I am.”
It was a hearty voice with a strong local accent.
“I came by because Master Aiden asked me to come to work today. Are you working too?”
As she said, Aiden had gone to get Meg alone on horseback just yesterday. This time, he didn’t tie Anje up.
‘Are you going to tie me up again…?’
‘…Do you like being tied up?’
‘No, of course not!’
‘I wasn’t even thinking about it, but you brought it up first.’
Anje struggled to find the right words to explain herself.
“No, I’m… living with him under certain circumstances.”
“Oh.”
It didn’t feel right to say that she was married or his wife out loud.
They were too estranged to be called a couple, and she didn’t know if Aiden wanted Meg to know that she was his wife.
Meg, who had been looking at Anje closely with a surprised expression, nodded as if she understood.
“Well, I hear that’s the trend among young people these days. ‘Love on the run,’ was it?”
“Oh, it’s not like that…”
“Anyway, Master Aiden, even if it meant dueling with your father, he should have fought fair and square and gotten your marriage approved.”
“It’s not quite like that…”
Ignoring Anje’s words, Meg began to chatter excitedly.
“Tom, the stablehand, did the same thing. He fell head over heels for the second daughter of the Giles Family, whom her father detested, and they got married secretly in Francia. It’s said that they don’t need witnesses there, do they?”
“Yes…”
“When he came back, he got a scolding on a rainy day, but what can you do about what’s already happened? Now they’re as close as family, as if nothing like that had ever happened.”
“Oh, I see.”
Without giving Anje time to reply, Meg walked into the stable without hesitation.
“I think we can just tie our big guy here. He has a bit of a temper, but he doesn’t mess with horses bigger than him, so he’ll be fine.”
“You don’t have to worry, the horses aren’t exactly mild-mannered either.”
Whenever Anje went to the stable, the horses would snort roughly and paw the ground, as if remembering her escape attempt.
Meg patted the donkey’s back affectionately and headed home with Anje.
“Oh, time seems to stand still here. It’s almost the same as 25 years ago when I first came to this house.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is. Mrs. Dilton’s labor came on suddenly and she couldn’t call the midwife or the doctor, so I rushed over. This oven looks like a new model compared to that time… Oh, the laundry room is well-equipped. I guess I can finish it all in an hour or two.”
“Are you here, ma’am?”
Aiden approached, having just noticed Meg’s arrival.
“Yes, Aunt Meg is here. The little red, wrinkled baby who cried in my arms back then has grown up like this.”
Aiden received her hug somewhat awkwardly. Anje turned her head and tried to hide her laughter.
“I can’t tell you how surprised I was when you showed up on horseback in front of our house one day. You, The boy who used to cry that he had seen a ghost in the forest…”
“Aunt Meg!”
* * * *
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