Chapter 36

Chapter 36 – For a Lifetime (1)

They returned home to find the butler, Kearney waiting for them in the lobby.

“Mr. Vorobev, this is the document the master asked to bring with you,” Kearney handed over a large brown envelope to Vorobev, who nodded in acknowledgement, and exchanging a few hushed words with Anna, left thereafter.

“Has Alexei telegraphed yet?” Anna asked Kearney as she walked towards the dining room.

“Yes. The master doesn’t like it when someone moves his desk, no matter who it is,” the butler replied in an expressionless monotone.

His temperament was highly reminiscent of Karenin’s.

‘Like Master, like servant,’ thought Anna.

“You are a good butler,” She said, smiling at him in appreciation as she took a seat for dinner. Kearney gave her a faint nod, indicating that he acknowledged and welcomed her praise.

The dinner prepared by the chef was very delicious, and Anna was tempted to overeat, but she controlled herself. She was conscious of her weight and usually followed the principle of not eating too much for dinner.

After all, she had to thank her slim physique for being able to wear the clothes, here. Otherwise, if she had to wear tight-fit clothes everyday, the kind she wore on her wedding day, she was sure she’d die of suffocation.

After dinner, Anna retired to her bedroom and settled in bed to read a British novel. As she read the novel, she figured that it was obviously written by a female writer, but some of the plot twists were so intriguingly strange that she suspected the writer must have lived in another time, just like her.

*

A couple of hours later, at about ten o’clock, the bell rang signalling Karenin’s arrival and he came in, looking tired. Anna sat up in bed to greet him, then remembered that in this era, noble couples still slept in separate bedrooms.

“How is it?” Anna got up and putting down her book on the bedside table, walked towards him.

“It’s been handled,” Karenin said.

When he saw Anna’s face, he frowned, “You should have gone to bed, Anna. Staying up late is bad for your health.”

“Well, that may be true, but as far as I know, you don’t go to bed until ten thirty every night” Anna raised, and eyebrow and grinned at him.

Karenin understanding fully what Anna meant, said, “I must finish dealing with all the official documents before ten o’clock each night, and then I read for half an hour.”

Anna blinked, “You could come to me.” Suddenly realising that it sounded wrong, she flushed. “I mean,” she ventured shyly, her eyelashes downcast, “I hope you can sleep next to me, always. I know this is not very appropriate, but I still think that since we are already married, why do I have to sleep in a room different from my husband’s?”

Embarrassed, Anna speeded up when she talked.

She walked back to the bed and patted the space next to her on the bed, that was big enough to accommodate at least four people.

“Look, the bed is big. We don’t need to waste so much space.”

She stretched out her arms to demonstrate the large empty area on the bed and patted it , feeling self-conscious and really silly.

“I probably don’t snore while I sleep and don’t grind my teeth either. Annushka didn’t say that I have a habit of talking in sleep, and the bed is big enough. I won’t disturb you…”

She trailed off, losing her nerve. “So, what do you think?”

Anna finally lifted her head to look at him. Her look when she suddenly looked up was what somewhat fierce, and if Karenin hadn’t known his wife well, he would probably have been taken aback. She was daring him to refuse.

“I think,” Karenin paused for effect, and then said, “Your reason seems to make a lot of sense.”

Anna stared at him expectantly. “Do you think it’s funny?” She asked, feeling awkward.

“No. Maybe. I have slowly gotten used to you,” Karenin said smiling, the slant of his eyebrows betraying how tired he really was. His eyelashes were slightly drooping, and the gentle smile made his cold facial features appear very soft and kind.

Anna felt her heart burst at the seams at the sight of him and before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “I think you are really cute.”

The dubious emotions were on display in Karenin’s blue eyes, and he turned to her, his expression sombre, “Anna, you can’t use…”

But he couldn’t finish, for he found himself captured in his wife’s arms as she caught hold of his head and kissed him fervently.

“I won’t tell anyone else, because you are mine,” She said, laughing and her laughter made that lovely sentiment seem unbelievably real to both of them.

“Well, “Karenin managed to begin, seemingly having great difficulty in saying what he wanted to, next, “I don’t want you to use the word ‘cute’ in reference to me. If you insist on this, I can’t stop you, but Anna, I really don’t like the word.”

Suddenly Karenin was back to his serious self as he tried to explain his stance on the subject to Anna.

“Since I am an important government official, the word ‘cute’ as an epithet will cause the citizens to question my competence and will diminish their trust in my capabilities. It’ll severely damage our reputation.”

“Of course, I know. Even though I sometimes want everyone in the world to know, just how adorable you are, I always hold back.”

Like a Koala, Anna had managed to hang herself from Karenin, who played the role of an upright tree. Because of her short stature, she had to tiptoe to clasp her arms behind Karenin’s neck for support.

The latter seems to have acquiesced to her soft and lightweight appearance and continued the conversation as if impervious to her antic, but on the inside, he grinned in delight at her childish display of affection.