A Noble Marriage - Chapter 51

Chapter 51 – The Best Thing That Happened (2)

Karenin had told his secretary to make a reservation in a restaurant. He hadn’t specified which, but Vorobev was good at his job and had done as asked. Karenin was satisfied. Vorobev might not be very high on integrity and might seek benefits all the time but he was efficient at his job.

After they had settled down at the restaurant, Mrs. Masacci whispered in Mr. Masacci’s ear. He chuckled. “Mr. Karenin, my wife is very curious about where you bought your scarf.”

Karenin looked at his scarf. The blue scarf with his name embroidered with a silk thread was gifted to him by Anna.

“Ah. My wife made this for me,” replied Karenin.

The couple seemed surprised. They were upper-class people from Germany and therefore, had an eye for elegant clothing. Mrs. Masacci, especially, could tell that the scarf was one of its kind. The combination of colors and the complexity of the patterns made the scarf exquisite.

“I can tell that the silver threads are more than just patterns,” Mrs. Masacci pointed out.

“My wife, she made it to be the initials of my name,” Karenin responded fondly.

Mrs. Masacci was amazed. “That is some splendid creativity,” she said excitedly, “I have never seen anybody sewing initials on scarves. I have seen royals do that on handkerchiefs. But scarves? Brilliant! If you don’t mind, may I touch the fabric of the scarf?”

Karenin was embarrassed and speechless. Thankfully, Mr. Masacci stopped her. “What are you even on about?” he said, incredulously, “going on about touching a scarf on other men.”

Mrs. Masacci blushed and apologized. “Look at me! Can’t leave beautiful things alone. Please forgive me.”

“That’s alright, Madame. No apology needed,” said Karenin.

“My wife’s hobbies replace me sometimes,” he said jokingly, “When she sees things of her interest, she tends to forget my presence. I have to remind her.” He continued, turning to his wife, “Do you remember when we were in London, and you left me alone with Bond, because you were obsessed with those gypsy girls’ outfit?” He chuckled.

“Oh,” scoffed Mrs. Masacci, “You knew that I was bad at receptions. Bond’s taste buds didn’t work very well because of his cold, just like Ms. Riley. She could never tell the difference between white pepper and black pepper, otherwise we wouldn’t have had so many interesting dishes. To be honest, I think that the impression of British cuisine is bad because of people like Ms. Riley,” smiled Mrs. Masacci. “Anyway, I trusted you enough not to bring my servant along.”

“Honestly, though,” continued Mr. Masacci, “you don’t even wear them, so why research so much?”

“Enough, darling”, Mrs. Masacci finally said, touching his hand, “we are not at home.”

It was enjoyable watching them bicker and talk. Karenin was surprised that the couple didn’t have any qualms on showing their affections to each other or even tease and joke with one another in public. Karenin, however, calmly redirected the conversation to the job at hand.

*

That afternoon, Karenin thought about the day’s events. He was thinking on a gift to Mr. Masacci to please him.

“Sir, if I may speak freely, I don’t think it requires too much thought,” said Vorobev, “Mr. Masacci drinks a lot. And he is a wine collector. I think a gift of wine would be perfect.”

Karenin wanted to give something that would raise his image. “I will consider your suggestion, but I think you can come up with something better than that,” he said and dismissed Vorobev.

Vorobev left the office unamused. He vehemently thought that he wasn’t inferior to Karenin, looking at the closed door of Karenin’s office.  But he knew better, so he straightened his shirt and left the office.

Karenin was still thinking. He looked at his watch and realized that it was ten minutes later than when he usually left for home. So, he packed his things and left.

When he reached home, Anna was waiting. “What’s happened?” she asked. Karenin was surprised. “I like that I can guess what’s on your mind,” she said and laughed.

Karenin told her about the day’s events and mentioned that Mrs. Masacci had highly praised the scarf. Her face lit up at that.

“It was a very important meeting, was it not?” she asked.

“Yes,” he nodded. He wanted to steer the talk to some other things. He didn’t want to burden her with office proceedings and details about his work.

“I have an idea,” said Anna, interrupting his thoughts.

“What is it?” asked Karenin.