A Noble Marriage

Pen Interesting Court www.xbiquge.cc, the fastest update noble marriage [Anna] latest chapter!    This is the anti-theft chapter

Cote d'Argent is a section of the coast of southwestern France, here is known as the "silver coast", when the sun on the beach, everything is bright and shiny, like the back of the world silver glitter. The harbor trade is well developed. The culture of the people is relatively simple.

The goods may not always be as good as in Petersburg, but there is always something strange and exotic. In Kottdalgante, the value of a thing is often not the thing itself, but the story it is given.

Take, for example, this one in Anna's hand. A small silver hairbrush decorated with red coral. The shape is rustic, into a blunt angle shape, not easy to cut fingers, red coral there are eight, very full, the silverware is not presented in a new look, a little dusty, but not ugly.

The comb was sold by a small man, with a beard and shrewd eyes. He told a sad story about a noble lady and a poor boy who fell in love, and this comb was the token of their love.

"What a poignant story."

Anna and a small group of people gathered next to them, one of the extraordinary dress lady was moved to some tears.

"Let's buy it." Karenin said.

When they had gone, Anna took the wrapped comb in her hand, then looked up and asked Karenin: "Do you believe that story?"

"There aren't that many stories about noble ladies and poor boys, Anna. The odds of that are basically zero." Karenin said calmly.

"Then why did you buy it?"

"You like it, don't you?" Karenin did not look at Anna, but said this lightly, and the latter only felt sweetness in her heart.

"Oh, yes, even if it was a fake story, I did like the gift."

"The added value of a story exceeds the value of the thing itself. An honest businessman is never better than a slick businessman." Karenin almost sighed.

Anna giggled and said, "You might as well say it's because women always make better money."

"I agree with that." Karenin nodded slightly.

"I'd like to go for a walk on the beach," Anna added, "I like the sea."

"Then let's go." Karenin did not object.

Located between the mouths of the Biarritz and Adur rivers, the water in this place was exceptionally clear.

"I'd like to walk barefoot." Anna said.

Karenin did not agree: "It's not decent, and it's still cold, you'll get sick."

Anna looked to Karenin.

After a moment, the latter sighed: "If you insist, but I still think ......"

Anna didn't wait for Karenin to finish before she took off her shoes and turned pale when her feet stepped on the sheepish foolishness.

"You're right." She grunted and put her shoes back on.

"It's a little cold."

"I think it's nice that you're being more sensible about it." Karenin said, almost with a little smile, and Anna grumbled something at him.

"You can do that when the weather is warmer next time." Finally, Karenin said so, and Anna's mood was good again.

There was no need to treat every moment of the present as if it were the last day, because they had a long future ahead of them.

Karenin noticed that Anna was always looking around with her head down, and he asked, "What are you looking for?"

"Seashells." Anna said, then squatted down, fingers snapping at the beach, and in a moment a small conch appeared in Anna's hand.

Karenin also squatted down, Anna took his hand, smiled and put the conch into his hand.

"Although it is a bit plain and not as precious as the coral hair comb you just gave me, now, it has become unique in the world."

The small conch was not long buried in the sand, still wrapped in a layer of the salty smell of the sea breeze, cool, the hardness of the shell scratching through the skin, allowing one to perceive its presence very clearly.

Its color, as his wife said, was somewhat square and unexceptional, but now it was a unique little sea snail.

"I have never received such a gift." Karenin said, in a somewhat tender tone.

He had naturally received many precious gifts, well wrapped and brought to his house with all sorts of purposes that must not be avoided, but never any gift that lay so modestly in his hand, and the person who gave it had no purpose.

Anna thought Karenin's reaction was more like that of an unworldly aristocratic lady who had fallen in love with a poor boy because of a harmonica. She suddenly felt a little amused, even though she understood that Karenin would never be that unworldly aristocratic lady.

"In fact, although I don't think money is the only measure of the value of a gift, if I were richer I would give you something better in return."

"Do I not give enough money for your regular expenses?" Karenin asked, frowning slightly.

"That's not what I mean. I mean, if I can afford to earn money myself." Anna finished observing Karenin's reaction.

"You make money?" Karenin asked, but not immediately going to accuse her of how unorthodox that idea was.

Anna was relieved and smiled a little: "Later maybe I can make money myself."

"I have never heard of any woman of noble birth making money, if you mean selling jewelry and clothing. Although it's not put out in the open, there's no shortage of a few in the circle who do it."

"That doesn't count as making money. You have always given me very ample money; in fact, a little too much. But I don't think any lady would complain that her husband gives her too much money." Anna said with a smile, her brow stretched.

"I know most wives don't talk about money with their husbands unless they have no more money to spend, but I'm willing to talk to you. I like that you're giving me money, and I'd like to be able to find a line of work to make some money myself. Sometimes making money is not about the money itself, but a sense of satisfaction. Realizing your value by making money, so to speak, you understand? Alexei."

"I've never heard that kind of talk before. But, I don't think it's unacceptable." Karenin said calmly after a moment of reflection, "But I wish I were in the know."

"Of course I'll tell you." Anna said instinctively, hardly thinking if she was going to do something that her husband was unaware of.

"I always need your advice and ideas." She complimented the other woman.

Even Karenin could not accept his wife's compliments calmly, and he was indeed happy in his heart.

They stayed in France for almost five days, and then they had to go back.

Anna told Maria about that, and everyone thought it was a good idea.

The train back arrived on time without much incident. Karenin's secretary was with them, but to be honest, Anna didn't like the man very much.

His eyes were like snakes, and Anna thought that they were a symbol of greed. But she didn't say it right away, because Vorobiev was Karenin's secretary, and not the dumb kind.

She did not want to add to Karenin's troubles because of her sensitivity.

By the time they arrived home, it was almost seven o'clock, and the carriage that Kolny had sent over was already waiting at the train station.

Once out of the train, a gust of cold wind blew over, and the face was a bit raw.

Anna wore a mink hat, wrapped in a coat, she felt her eyelashes were a little stiff, and the breath coming out of her mouth would turn white.

"It's so cold." She said.

"Are you okay?" Karenin asked. He couldn't go back with Anna, there were some urgent matters at the court that had to be taken care of.

"It's okay," Anna winked, "I have nothing to do."

Karenin asked his secretary Vorobiev to go home with Anna and bring over one of his papers.

"Don't worry, sir." Vorobiev smiled a little, he had the most popular beard, he was tall and strong, and his brown eyes were very attractive, but his manner of speech was a little too frivolous.

Peter, the coachman, told Anna to get into the carriage, then "yo-ho", and the horses' hooves started to clatter.

Vorobiev tried to chat with Anna, to amuse her with those popular jokes of Petersburg, but Anna was not amused as the other women were giggling.

"There will be a nice play in a few days, madam." He said the name of an actress, but Anna did not know it, and she did not have the heart to talk about it with this person.

For she always felt that this Mr. Vorobiev had eyes like a snake, and sometimes stared at her very unkindly.

Her intuition was right, Vorobyov did have something else in mind for the new Mrs. Karenin.

He was fascinated by her appearance, although she was not as voluptuous as the current fashion, but her dark curly hair white as cream complexion, and her more aloof attitude. This kind of woman who is not easy to get hold of is always more interesting.

Vorobiev thought to himself. He was always the kind of person who was very concerned about appearance, and he always had a good idea of the fashion in Petersburg, but he was not a stupid sex man. He likes to conquer, thanks to his brain, which is a little more intelligent than normal.

He will make a longer-term hunting plan, because this Karenin woman deserves to be in the top three in his mind.

Having made up his mind, Vorobev put away his earnestness, while Anna observed for a moment and wondered if she really was being too sensitive.

The goods might not always be as superior as in Petersburg, but there was always something rare and odd. In Kotdalgante, the value of an object was often not in itself, but in the story it was given.

For example, this one in Anna's hand. A small silver hairbrush decorated with red coral. The shape is antique, into a blunt angle shape, not easy to cut fingers, red coral there are eight, very full, the silver vessel is not presented in a new look, a little dusty, but not unsightly.

The comb was sold by a small man with a beard and shrewd eyes. He told a sad story about a noble lady and a penniless boy who fell in love, and the comb was a token of their love.

"What a poignant story."

A small group of people gathered next to Anna and them, and one of them, a lady with an extraordinary dress, was moved to some tears.

"Let's buy it." Karenin said.

When they had gone, Anna took the wrapped comb in her hand, then looked up and asked Karenin, "You believe that story?"

"There aren't that many stories about noble ladies and poor boys, Anna. The probability of that is basically zero." Karenin said calmly.

"Then why did you buy it?"

"You like it, don't you?" Karenin did not look at Anna, but said this lightly, and the latter only felt sweetness all over her heart.

"Oh, yes, even if it was a fake story, I did like the gift."

"The added value of a story exceeds the value of the thing itself. An honest businessman is never better than a slick businessman." Karenin almost sighed.

Anna giggled and said, "You might as well say it's because women always make better money."

"I agree with that." Karenin nodded slightly.

"I'd like to go for a walk on the beach," Anna added, "I like the sea."

"Then let's go." Karenin did not object.

Located between the mouths of the Biarritz and Adur rivers, the water in this place was exceptionally clear.

"I'd like to walk barefoot." Anna said.

Karenin did not agree: "It is not decent, and it is still cold, you will get sick."

Anna looked at Karenin.

After a moment, the latter sighed: "If you insist, but I still think ......"

Anna didn't wait for Karenin to finish before she took off her shoes and turned pale when her feet stepped on the sheepish foolishness.

"You're right." She grunted and put her shoes back on.

"It's a little cold."

"I think it's nice that you're being more sensible about it." Karenin said, almost with a little smile, and Anna grumbled something at him.

"You can do that when the weather is warmer next time." Finally, Karenin said so, and Anna's mood was good again.

There was no need to treat every moment of the present as if it were the last day, because they had a long future ahead of them.

Karenin noticed that Anna was always looking around with her head down, and he asked, "What are you looking for?"

"Seashells." Anna said, then squatted down, fingers snapping at the beach, and in a moment, a small conch appeared in Anna's hand.

Karenin also squatted down, and Anna took his hand, smiling as she placed the conch in his.

"Although it is a bit plain and not as precious as the coral hair comb you just gave me, now, it has become unique in the world."

The small conch was not long buried in the sand, still wrapped in a layer of the salty smell of the sea breeze, cool, the hardness of the shell scratching through the skin, allowing one to perceive its presence very clearly.

Its color, as his wife said, was somewhat square and unexceptional, but now it was a unique little sea snail.

"I have never received such a gift." Karenin said, in a somewhat tender tone.

He had naturally received many precious gifts, well wrapped and brought to his house with all sorts of purposes that must not be avoided, but never any gift that lay so modestly in his hand, and the person who gave it had no purpose.

Anna thought Karenin's reaction was more like that of an unworldly aristocratic lady who had fallen in love with a poor boy because of a harmonica. She suddenly felt a little amused, even though she understood that Karenin would never be that unworldly aristocratic lady.

"In fact, although I don't think money is the only measure of the value of a gift, if I were richer I would give you something better in return."

"Do I not give enough money for your regular expenses?" Karenin asked, frowning slightly.

"That's not what I mean. I mean, if I can afford to earn money myself." Anna finished observing Karenin's reaction.

"You make money?" Karenin asked, but not immediately going to accuse her of how unorthodox that idea was.

Anna was relieved and smiled a little: "Later maybe I can make money myself."

"I have never heard of any woman of noble birth making money, if you mean selling jewelry and clothing. Although it's not put out in the open, there's no shortage of a few in the circle who do it."

"That doesn't count as making money. You have always given me very ample money; in fact, a little too much. But I don't think any lady would complain that her husband gives her too much money." Anna said with a smile, her brow stretched.

"I know most wives don't talk about money with their husbands unless they have no more money to spend, but I'm willing to talk to you. I like that you're giving me money, and I'd like to be able to find a line of work to make some money myself. Sometimes making money is not about the money itself, but a sense of satisfaction. Realizing your value by making money, so to speak, you understand? Alexei."

"I've never heard that kind of talk before. But, I don't think it's unacceptable." Karenin said calmly after a moment of reflection, "But I wish I were in the know."

"Of course I'll tell you." Anna said instinctively, hardly thinking if she was going to do something that her husband was unaware of.

"I always need your advice and ideas." She complimented the other woman.

Even Karenin could not accept his wife's compliments calmly, and he was indeed happy in his heart.

They stayed in France for almost five days before they had to go back.

Anna told Maria about that and everyone thought it was a good idea.

Nothing happened on the train back and it arrived on time. Karenin's secretary was with them, but to be honest, Anna didn't like the man very much.

His eyes were like snakes, and Anna thought that they were a symbol of greed. But she didn't say it right away, because Vorobiev was Karenin's secretary, and not the dumb-ass kind.

She did not want to add to Karenin's troubles because of her sensitivity.

By the time they arrived home, it was almost seven o'clock, and the carriage that Kolny had sent over was already waiting at the train station.

Once out of the train, a gust of cold wind blew over, and the face was a bit raw.

Anna wore a mink hat, wrapped in a coat, she felt her eyelashes were a little stiff, and the breath coming out of her mouth would turn white.

"It's so cold." She said.

"Are you okay?" Karenin asked. He couldn't go back with Anna, there were some urgent matters at the court that had to be taken care of.

"Yes," Anna winked, "I have nothing to do."

Karenin asked his secretary Vorobiev to go home with Anna and bring over one of his papers.

"Don't worry, sir." Vorobiev smiled a little, he had the most popular beard, he was tall and strong, and his brown eyes were very attractive, but his manner of speech was a little too frivolous.

Peter, the coachman, told Anna to get into the carriage, then "yo-ho", and the horses' hooves started to clatter.

Vorobiev tried to chat with Anna, to amuse her with the popular jokes of Petersburg, but Anna did not giggle like the other women.

"There will be a nice play in a few days, madam." He said the name of an actress, but Anna did not know it, and she did not have the heart to talk about it with this person.

For she always felt that this Mr. Vorobiev had eyes like a snake, and sometimes stared at her very unkindly.

Her intuition was right, Vorobyov did have something else in mind for the new Mrs. Karenin.

He was fascinated by her appearance, although she was not as voluptuous as the current fashion, but her dark curly hair white as cream complexion, and her more aloof attitude. This kind of woman who is not easy to get hold of is always more interesting.

Vorobiev thought to himself. He was always the kind of person who was very concerned about appearance, and he always had a good idea of the fashion in Petersburg, but he was not a stupid sex man. He likes to conquer, thanks to his brain, which is a little more intelligent than normal.

He will make a longer-term hunting plan, because this Karenin woman deserves to be in the top three in his mind.

Having made up his mind, Vorobiev put away his earnestness, while Anna observed for a moment and wondered if she really was being too sensitive.

"We are not fools." Andrei muttered, but didn't continue the conversation.

"You should leave now."

"You're a bit heartless, you know that? Andrei." Anna said in mock surprise, "You're ready for me to leave after you've made up with your best friend?"

"We don't have much time." Andrei bit his lip and looked like he was about to cry.

"Oh, don't worry, honey, I was just kidding." Anna hurried to reassure the other girl, and then both of those kids winked at her.

"I know." Andrei said, giving a sly smile.

"I won't forgive you, you're a bad boy." Anna said with a smile and Andrei winked before kissing her on the cheek.

"Thank you."

"Much obliged, Mrs. Karenin." Charlie kissed Anna on the other cheek.

"You are, very lovely." Charlie commented, looking a little regretful, "You really shouldn't have married so early, you only had to wait five more years."

Andre said with a grimace, "Even though my uncle is a bit of a curmudgeon, don't get your ideas on him. Otherwise I'll fight you, and that won't change even if we're best friends."

"See, he's actually the childish one." Charlie winked at Anna, "He loves your husband."

Anna couldn't stop laughing at Charlie's words and Andre rolled his eyes, "That's my uncle. Although he is old-fashioned, serious, uninteresting, one-dimensional, too impersonal and a workaholic, he is my uncle."

When Karenin returned in the evening, Anna told him about it.

"You have a devoted admirer."

"I'm sure Andrey never meant it that way." Karenin did not take the joke, apparently knowing very well the character of his nephew.

Anna changed the subject: "I was thinking that perhaps we could still help them."

"How?"

"When Andre is free, he can come to our house, and Charlie can also come to our house for a while, if you don't mind?"

"That's feasible. Anna, you can arrange that when the time comes." Karenin was hanging up his tie.

"You've been drinking a little." Anna wrinkled her nose and sniffed.

"Two glasses, and it tastes great?" Karenin inquired, sniffing his own shirt at the same time, unsure if the smell of alcohol was great. In that group of alcoholics, even if you didn't drink, you would always get the smell.

"It's tolerable."

Anna didn't like alcohol, and she didn't want her husband to be an alcoholic.

"Do you need me to give you a massage?" She offered.

Karenin looked at her with raised eyes.

Anna had thought the other woman was doubting her skills, so she hurriedly lit up her hands, which were white and just looked beautiful.

"I'm very good at massages."

"Anna, why do you know how to do this?" Karenin asked slowly.

"Inside the book, did you forget how much Skewar likes to drink?" Anna laughed, trying to digress.

Karenin nodded, and didn't really seem to take it to heart. Anna sighed in relief as he turned around.

She sat Karenin in a soft chair, washed her hands and rubbed them on his neck with a fair amount of skill.

"Are you free tomorrow?"

"Not really scheduled, why?"

"I want to go shopping, would you like to accompany me?"

"Is there anything you want to buy?"

"No, just want to shop."

Anna waited for Karenin to answer, and after a while, the latter said, seemingly thinking for a moment.

"Sometimes I don't quite understand why women go out shopping without a planning list, or, for that matter, go shopping without a purpose."

"I can't blame you for not understanding, sometimes we don't understand ourselves either." Anna smiled as she began to tell Karenin some of the day's little jokes, all of them about the three children.

"Lucia is very well behaved, Andrei is a bit proud but also very cute, and as for Charlie, you don't know how funny he is to talk ......"

"You like children?" Karenin suddenly asked.

"I like them." Anna answered instinctively, then suddenly realized what was going on and blushed a little.

"That," she mumbled, and the movement of her hands stopped.

She was about to say something, but Karenin suddenly raised his right hand, took Anna's right hand that was resting on his neck and brought it over gently, then he looked up at the person in front of him and with a little more force pulled Anna down so that she was sitting on his lap.

"You can hold me." Karenin spoke.

Anna couldn't control her blush, now even her earlobes were red. She raised her hands and wrapped them around Karenin's neck, moving gently.

Karenin's right hand lifted again, landing just below Anna's earlobe, then curving along the delicate jawline to the pointed chin, and finally the thumb gently grazed her lips.

"Are you drunk?" Anna asked in a whisper, her voice trembling minutely.

"No."

Very calmly replied the voice, and Anna tried to speak again, but could not.

She felt that Karenin should be a little drunk.

"Breathe." Kalenin whispered, his voice low, like the October wind, slightly cool, and wrapped in a hint of the golden aroma of wheat fields.

Anna breathed obediently, she had never kissed someone so deeply, and she knew Karenin hadn't either, and to be honest, Anna would have been jealous if he had, really.

Karenin's body moved, then picked Anna right up, one slipper falling on the shag carpet, the other removed by Karenin and dropped on the carpet as well.

Anna was blushing profusely.

She was put on the bed, and thin kisses fell on her, and shyness made her close her eyes hard.

The man's fingers paused at the shoulder and finally dropped a soft kiss at the end of the collarbone.

Anna opened her eyes and the blue eyes were gazing at her, her whole body next to hers.

She'd never been this close to another person before, like, any closer and there would never be a distance between them again.

"Why?"

"I've been drinking, and you don't like it."

Karenin's fingers gently combed through Anna's hair.

Anna suddenly felt a little soreness in her eyes, but she just smiled at the other woman. Then she got up and pushed Karenin, and now it became her on top.

Anna traced Karenin with the tips of her fingers and finally they landed on the corner of the other woman's lips, which Karenin caught and kissed.

She cringed, but her smile did not disappear, and finally kissed the other woman's lips, then leaned against Karenin's chest.

The smell of vodka was somewhat faint, and a closer sniff clearly showed that it was more Karenin's smell, her husband's smell.

The freshness of the clothes sizing, the faint aroma of tobacco on the tips of the fingers, the soft scent of cotton fabric on the clean and neat handkerchiefs. In general, Karenin smells a little bitter, with a little taste of manly salt grains, □□ the skin is the smell of soap, everything is natural.

"I'll remember the taste, always." Anna murmured.

"What's that smell?"

"The smell of my husband." Anna said with a smile, kissing the other woman again.

The night was still long, and the future was long, Anna thought, just take your time, everything will come naturally ......

She looked at him again, for it turned out that the serious gentleman also had such a cunning side.

"I will arrange everything properly."

Finally, the great bureaucrat promised so.

Madame Tellier could not find any reason to refuse, so the wedding date was set. In theory, Karenin should have stayed for dinner, but he could not get away from his official duties, and Madame Thérière was more pleased to appreciate those who had political ambitions than men who liked to please the woman's maiden family.

Anna had thought that according to Madame Thérière's impersonal personality, she might have to wait until the wedding day to spend some time alone with Karenin, but surprisingly, Madame Thérière thought that since they were about to get married, they could get to know each other briefly first.

So, clear the room, except for the necessary servants, and in the eyes of the nobility, the servants are no different from those ornaments, and if you want to be serious, ornaments are usually more expensive.

Black tea dense aroma floating, tea points delicately decorated in a silver plate, two people maintain the etiquette, sitting not close not far, although for Anna, a modern person, the distance is not really close, not even enough to be good friends, but she knew that can not ask enough.

"In two weeks." Anna cleared her throat and smiled again, as if she were surrounded by some magic bubble of joy all over her body.

It was clearly still cold, and the sun simply couldn't penetrate the heavy clouds in Russia to reach indoors, but Karenin felt like he felt it.

Sunshine, his little fiancée, all was well.

"I hope you don't feel rushed."

"Not at all."

Just as he expected, his fiancée was not at all reserved when it came to him, but that was, frankly, fine.

"I'll be in Petersburg the day after tomorrow, and I'll make all the arrangements, so you don't have to worry about anything. Next week, when you arrive in Petersburg, I will meet you at the railway station."

Karenin was not talking about love, his tone was no different from his usual speech, always in a state of calm statement, but Anna would like to think that it was a Karenin-style love talk. Honestly, how many men can give everything I promise so easily?

"So, you can call me by my name now?" Anna said this again without a head, while Karenin was no longer surprised.

His somewhat deep blue eyes, his gaze darted over Anna, and after a moment whispered as she wished, "Anna."

"This is the third time I have asked you to call me by my first name, and you must know that I am not always courageous, it happens only three times, Alexei." Anna said sweetly, her cheeks flushed.

"I don't say yes easily to things that are not according to etiquette and rules." Karenin said.

"I have to preserve our decency."

Anna ignored this insufficiently flattering fact and said bluntly: "I like the way you say 'we,' Alexei," she paused and said with cheerful emphasis, "I like the way you so naturally start saying 'we', it's so nice, and I feel more confident about our marriage."

"It is, as it should be." Karenin said after a rare moment of hesitation.

Anna shook her head as she said sincerely, "There are truths that everyone understands, but not many can do it easily and naturally."

Karenin fell into a short pause at Anna's words, and Anna didn't leave him alone like that for long, her standard bright eyes looking at her again.

"We're off to a good start!"

"A good start?" Karenin recalled the memory of the ball two days before, when he had been shocked by the other party's proposal of marriage, and wondered a little whether it was really a good start, which her fiancée evidently saw, as she puffed out her cheeks like a little squirrel, so puffed out that her dimples were invisible.

"Believe me, not everyone can one, can go through all of this."

Anna originally wanted to say that it was love at first sight, but the words came to her lips or she swallowed them down, in the end, she was a little bold, but it does not mean that she did not have the reserve of a daughter.

Karenin didn't guess this; after all, no matter how smart he was, he couldn't immediately understand the differences caused by the two eras for women.

If Anna had first spoken to him not of marriage but that she had fallen in love with him at first sight, perhaps there would be no present. This is strange, as are certain laws of high society. People never rebel against marriage, but they all hang around lovers, happily switching between the two roles, in the day and the night.

Marriage is a rational and profitable choice, while like and love are not something you can just say out loud.

"Indeed." Karenin nodded in agreement, he thought, if he had not met her, I'm afraid he would never have experienced this in his life.

Anna thought Karenin was implicitly expressing his approval of the affair, as well as, his fondness for her, so instead she got a little shy.