A Noble Marriage - Chapter 53

Chapter 53 – Anna’s Marital Treaty (2)

Karenin diverted the topic, and the two couples began to talk. After lunch, Anna invited Mrs. Masacci alone to sit on the balcony for a while.

It was modified by Anna herself. The floor-to-ceiling glass completely blocked the cold wind outside. The small space was in the shape of an arc. Anna had asked for a simple bay window made out of wood. It was the Tatar coachman who was very skilled. Then she and Anushka had made a lot of cushions together. Anushka also made a lot of small rattan baskets based on Anna’s drawings. The round table in the middle was small and delicate, supported by the iron frame below. The iron frame was painted a shiny black. The thin table top was covered with a layer of floral cloth, and a thin-necked glass vase was placed on it with a flower inside.

“Please sit down, Madame Masacci.” Anna invited the lady to sit down.

“I like your arrangement, Mrs. Karenin, did you do it alone?” asked Mrs. Masacci, deeply impressed by the balcony’s setting.

“I had a lot of good helpers, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do it.” Anna laughed.

Mrs. Masacci saw an unfinished scarf placed in those rattan baskets. It was made up of black and gray diamond lattices, which looked grand and serene at the same time.

“Actually, I have always been curious about how you knit.” Mrs. Masacci asked.

Anna smiled as she had put those things there on purpose so that Madame Masacci could see them. In fact, she had hoped that this matter would be brought up by the lady in front of her. And she had, which indirectly showed that she liked Anna’s designs very much. Unlike the ladies who only liked to compare prices, Madame Masacci had her own unique ideas.

“Ah, I’ll tell you in detail.” Anna replied enthusiastically and for the next hour, her conversation with Mrs. Masacci went smoothly.

She didn’t mention annoying government affairs, nor did she mention the men’s arguments. She and Madame Masacci expressed their views on recent fashions in Paris and other places. Many of their ideas turned out to be identical.

“You are a genius Mrs. Karenin!”

In the end, Mrs. Masacci looked at Anna in awe, and the latter blushed.

“I appreciate your praise Mrs. Masacci. Please believe in the wisdom of the people of the world, the wisdom of the Russian people. It will be a shame if you compare me to the original creator.” Anna said, “This is because there are many such talented people around me.”

“I have indeed heard about the people of your country. You are smart and industrious, and your self-effacement touched me.” Mrs. Masacci nodded in agreement.

“Russia is a vast country with rich resources. If you can stay for a while, I’m afraid there will be more interesting things to tell you.” Anna hinted.

There was a thoughtful look in Mrs. Masacci’s eyes, and Anna smiled. Instead of insisting on getting a reply from the other party at this time, she offered the guest a drink.

“Would you like some tea, Mrs. Masacci?” Anna used boiling water to make tea, and then added some jam to it.

“Russian black tea, I hope you like it.”

“Oh, actually, I really like it.” Mrs. Masacci said, and the two women from different countries smiled at each other.

The conversation on the other side of the house seemed a bit salty and not light, at least to outsiders it seemed so. But only when people bow their heads to drink tea, people can slightly distinguish the smell of gunpowder that is not giving way.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, after the Masaccis left, Anna walked around in front of Karenin.

“Do you want to hear good news or bad news?”

“Bad news? I thought that all that was waiting for me was good news.”

“Well, since you know everything, I won’t say it.” She mocked him and started walking away, smiling to herself.

“Anna.”

“Yes?” Anna asked, turning to look at Karenin.

His expression was calm at first, but when she silently kept looking at him, he coughed lightly.

“If I must say so, Article 10 of “Must Get Married”, ‘be a good friend to each other’ should also mean sharing good and bad news face to face.”

Anna blinked. Then blinked again, until the man in front of her became somewhat uncomfortably stiff. She couldn’t control the smile that stretched her face.

“You still remember!” she said happily.

Karenin regained his stern face and said solemnly, “Since it exists and has played a very important role in our marriage, so no matter what, I shall always remember it as a kind of respect.”

For a socially awkward person as Karenin, what he wanted to express at the moment was, “I value this treaty very much, even though it is not intellectually rigorous or logically sound. But we acknowledged it, and it needs to be respected. Since it is bound by you and me, as one of the parties, how can you forget its contents? Once the legal provisions are implemented, they will be authoritative. People cannot violate the law and despise the spirit of the law, which will lead to chaos in the entire society.” He didn’t think that she would understand the importance it held even if he shared these careful thoughts of his. However, he was very patient, so he would wait.

But what he didn’t know was that Anna understood. Her heart swelled with love for him and she felt like she couldn’t refuse any request of his.

So, she only took a minute to tell Karenin the good news, shared it with him, and made a decision within the next minute. In other words, it would only be Karenin in Anna’s heart, her husband and lover. Besides, there was a unique nickname she had for him. This nickname was not revealed until she once made him a little drunk.

And Karenin, after knowing the nickname that belonged to him alone, couldn’t help but blush fiercely for the first time in his long life of thirty-two years.