A Noble Marriage

PENCIL www.xbiquge.cc, the fastest update to the latest chapter of Noble Marriage [Anna]!    This is a burglar-proof chapter. It would be dishonest to say that Anna hadn't fantasized about what the second night of her wedding would be like.

But if someone had told her that the couple had spent their wedding night in a bed that was too big for their liking, and that they had spent the night in peace, she wouldn't have believed it.

Now, she believed it.

The side of the bed belonging to Karenin was made in order.

The owner of the bed had not left the bedroom, but was lounging in a soft chair, working diligently as a Russian official.

Noticing the movement of the bed, Karenin turned around and saw his little wife looking at her attentively with gray eyes.

Her hair was a little disheveled, and looked even curlier. After a night's rest, the skin on her face had become white and soft, and her pretty lips were slightly parted as if in awe.

Karenin made himself take his eyes off his wife's rosy lips.

"Good day, Anna."

Usually, Karenin's first daily greeting was always dedicated to his housekeeper, Kolny, but now, since his marriage, he was beginning to feel this subtle difference.

"Good day, Alexei."

Anna wasn't sure it was part of her fantasy of the still unkempt wife and the decent husband, but either way, when Karenin walked up to him, it didn't matter.

"Grachov will be here at nine, and at two in the afternoon we're leaving for France." Karenin said.

Last night Karenin had said that Glachov was Karenin's family doctor. Things were almost ready already.

"Okay." Anna answered, then asked, "What time do you always get up?"

"Six o'clock."

Anna looked at the wall clock and saw that it was seven forty. She always woke up at seven and thought she had developed an early enough biological clock, but it seemed that she was still no match for a certain Russian official.

She lifted the covers and prepared to go to the lavatory to freshen herself up, getting up a little later than usual today and hoping to have some time to do a simple stretching exercise.

When Anna came out, Karenin had already left and Annushka was tidying the room.

"Where is Alexei?"

"Sir went to his study and said that breakfast will be delayed by twenty minutes."

Anna smiled a little at that, and she went to the closet to choose her clothes.

In a noble family, the job of a personal maid included dressing her mistress, but Annushka did not need to do so for Anna, who was used to relying on herself for everything.

Annushka was almost a little apprehensive at first after being informed that she did not need to serve Anna, but later she found out that this was not the case.

Since Anna got well, she has become more cheerful in character.

Annushka was only a maid, she was not well educated, but kept to her duty, did not look at what she should not look at, did not think about what she should not guess, and by now she had adjusted herself not to make a fuss.

Anna picked a long dress made of velvet, that is very warm. By the time she was out of the bedroom door, Kearney, the butler, informed her that she could go to dinner.

"Thank you, Kearney." Anna smiled at the serious butler, who nodded at her in greeting.

Anna arrived at the dining room, where Karenin was already waiting, reading the newspaper.

The servant put the paper away, and Karenin looked up at Anna to gesture for her to sit down.

Anna looked at the long table, then said, "Do you want me to sit here, or here?" She gestured with her eyes to the two seats.

Karenin got up and pulled out the chair next to him.

Anna winked, "I like that decision."

The breakfast was hearty, and there were no problems with each other's dining etiquette, except that too much silence made Anna feel a little uncomfortable.

She didn't like the quiet, but she wasn't sure Karenin would like it. After a moment of hesitation, she asked anyway, "May I ask you a question? Alexei."

"Yes." Although a little strange, Karenin stopped the movement of his hand.

Anna was a little coy, but decided to be honest.

"Can we communicate during the meal?"

Anna continued, "After what happened yesterday, I think that we need to communicate more. I want to get to know you better."

"You can ask me any question you want, Anna, unless it's something at work that I can't disclose." Karenin dropped the silverware in his hand completely at this point.

"Sometimes you don't need to be too careful with me, you know, you can, relax a little."

Anna laughed: "You're a little serious sometimes, you know?"

Karenin was a little surprised, then shook his head, "Not that anyone has ever talked to me about that. Besides, my job dictates that I am better able to make decisions this way."

"Many people are afraid to talk to you, but I can." Anna finished and smiled again, "Look at it this way, being your wife really has a lot of benefits."

Karenin did not know how to respond to these words, like a compliment, and somehow less formal.

"You see, now I know you a little better." Anna said as she began to cut her own bacon, so natural was she that Karenin looked at her for a moment afterwards.

The early morning sun shone in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling over his wife's hair, over her shoulders, as if she were dancing.

He glanced at the clock.

It was eight thirty, twenty minutes later than his usual breakfast time. The habit of not talking during meals at home was broken, too, and his right hand could touch the other one if he spread it out, so close. All because of the marriage.

"What do you want me to say to you?" Karenin asked.

Anna looked up, then said, "Anything, Alexei, I think this is the couple, you can say anything to me, if you want."

Anything, that's a bit too wide a scope.

If this were the answer Karenin got at work, he would normally frown and have his men regiment that answer again. But Anna was not his subordinate, he was his wife, a very special kind of being that he had never encountered before. Lack of data to analyze, only cautiously move one step at a time, and sometimes, even caution is not even used.

It was a little scary for Karenin, not bound by rules, no case studies, but he thought he could do it well.

For this reason, Karenin chose a topic carefully.

"Are you still willing to go to France with me in the afternoon?"

"Of course, what makes you think I would change?" Anna said pleasantly.

"After what happened last night, I'm afraid you'll need some personal space."

"No." Anna expressed herself frankly, "I want to follow you to France."

"I understand."

Silence returned to the dining room once again, but this time Anna no longer felt a little awkward.

Glachov came on time, a man in his fifties, with brownish-red hair that hadn't yet turned gray, and with a well-groomed, kindly appearance.

He was indeed a gracious doctor and gave Anna an ointment to apply.

After the doctor left, they were the only two people left in the bedroom.

Karenin asked, "Do you need me to call Annushka?" At the word, the ointment was handed to him.

"It's a necessary part of falling in love, increasing contact, getting acquainted with each other, and then ......" She didn't say any more, just bowed her head and smiled.

Afterwards, in the final explanation with the housekeeper, turning around to board the carriage, Karenin saw the one who was waiting for him by the carriage, although it was still cold wind, and the November chill, but it was as if spring had come with limp skirts, leaving seeds of hope on the land, just waiting for the flowers to bloom in the coming year.

He was married, and it felt good to be married.

"Yes. Sir doesn't like anyone moving his desk, no matter who it is." The housekeeper replied calmly, with the exact same temperament as Karenin.

"You are a good housekeeper." Anna said, and Kolny gave her a light smile to show that he accepted the compliment.

The dinner prepared by the cook was delicious, but Anna continued to refrain from eating too much for dinner. She did not want to gain weight. She was still very uncomfortable with the dress here, but fortunately she was relatively slim. If she had to wear a dress that strangled her waist all the time, as she did on her wedding day, she would really die.

After dinner, Anna was in her bedroom reading an English novel. It was obviously written by a female author, and some of the stark points in it simply made one suspect that it was also written by a crossover.

At about ten o'clock Karenin rang the bell and came in. He looked a little tired.

In this era, noble couples slept in separate rooms.

"Well?" Anna asked, putting down her book and walking over.

"It's stabilized." Karenin said, then after seeing Anna's appearance, he frowned slightly, "You should get ready for bed, Anna, sleeping late is extremely bad for your health."

"But as far as I know, you can't get ready for bed until 10:30 every day." Anna laughed.

Taking in Anna's meaning, Karenin said, "I have to take care of all my official papers by ten o'clock and then keep up with my reading for half an hour."

Anna winked, "You can come here."

"I mean," she looked a little embarrassed, her eyelashes fluttering, but finally said it, "I'd like you to sleep next to me, always."

"I know it's not very proper, but I still think that since we are already married, why do I have to have one room with my husband?"

Because she was embarrassed, Anna's final words took on a rapid pace. She walked over to the bed and patted with one hand the large four-poster bed that could accommodate at least four people.

"You see, the bed is huge, we don't have to waste it."

She held out her hands again and patted it, and it really looked kind of silly.

"I don't snore in my sleep, I should, and probably don't grind my teeth, and Annuschka didn't say I had a habit of talking in my sleep, and the bed is big enough that it won't bother you ......"

She repeated once more that the bed was very big, so much so that her voice eventually just got quieter and quieter.

"So, what do you think?"

Anna lifted her head and looked bravely at the other woman, and to be honest, she actually jerked her head up with a real fierceness of her own. If Karenin hadn't already known his wife well, he would have more than likely been frozen in shock.

"I think," Karenin hesitated for a moment, then said, "your reason seems to have been quite sufficient."

"Don't you think it's funny." Anna asked dryly.

"Not really, probably, I'm slowly getting used to it." Kalenin said, tired look still interspersed between his eyebrows. But his eyelashes are slightly lowered, with a light smile between his lips, making the usually colder features, but at the moment it seems very soft.

Anna felt something scream inside her, and then she found herself actually saying it.

"I think you're really, really cute right now."

Doubt gathered in Karenin's blue eyes, then became serious and earnest, and he slackened his face.

"Anna, you can't use ......"

But he didn't finish, because his wife was putting her arms around him and kissing him on the lips.

"I won't tell anyone, you're mine." She said with a smile and a laugh that made the little charming sentiment fade away.

What emotions were tumbling around inside, eventually all faded away with this burst of laughter.

"About," Karenin paused, as if he had to use great fortitude to get that word out, "'lovely,' I don't want you to use it to judge me, and I can't stop you if you insist on it, but Anna, I don't want you to judge me that way to the outside world."