Although Anna treasured the snowman, after two days of viewing it, she had the concierge remove it.
Karenin's work was about to start again, and the guests who came to visit him were about to resume. Anna didn't want outsiders to have doubts about Karenin's impression.
Although her husband is sweet and reasonable, Anna has no intention of actually letting his political enemies or colleagues know this. She always had to protect her husband's dignity, just as he always backed down for her.
The so-called husband and wife, Anna thought, probably meant that. Feel the love, and then don't be stingy to give love.
Since the last time Anushka praised Anna's idea of knee pads and scarves, Anna also had a little new idea after Christmas.
She finished her yoga activities as usual, then made a plan for herself, and then plunged into the kitchen to research new desserts with cook Sasha.
Karenin saw the plan because it was spread out on the desk in the bedroom. He circled a couple of grammatical errors while not questioning the matter.
If his wife was interested in clothes, Karenin could see no reason to limit her. However, he thinks his wife should reinforce the language courses.
He shared his thoughts with Anna, who opened her round eyes but did not object.
"I think you're right."
Since then, Anna temporarily put down her schedule and started to learn more knowledge like a good student.
Although studying will never be particularly pleasant, but since she doesn't need to work hard for her livelihood and has such a noble status, it is always good to learn more knowledge worthy of this status. Anna thought so.
Karenin hired a French teacher for Anna, an elderly man in his sixties with wise and peaceful eyes.
Mr. Maillard was also Karenin's French tutor in the past, and taught him for three years. After he returned to France, he stopped teaching between them.
Karenin has always respected each other very much, and now, Maillard has returned to Russia, and it seems that he still has plans to settle down.
When Karenin entrusted the matter to him, the old gentleman blinked his wise blue eyes and said: "Oh, my dear Karenin, I thought you already had a child, just like a A frowning father wants to find his first French teacher for his child!"
Karenin felt a little embarrassed, but he never showed it.
"I have no children, Mr. Maillard," Karenin corrected meticulously.
"I am here to hire you as my wife's French teacher. My wife also wants to consolidate those language knowledge again to meet social needs. And I think that, apart from you, so far, no one I know There is no one in your circle who is more qualified than you for this task. I would be very grateful if you would agree."
"Look, Shirley, what a sweet word, I can't believe it's from little Karenin." Mr. Maillard blinked at his wife, completely ignoring the twitch on Karenin's cheek. trace.
"Oh, don't call Alexei Karenin Jr., he's a serious gentleman." Mrs. Maillard stopped her husband who was getting older and younger, and she put the blueberry pie in front of Karenin .
"Eat some, my dear, how long has it been since you had my blueberry pie?" Mrs. Maillard said lovingly. She never forgot the person in front of her. He was a boy, but now I have my own wife.
"Three years and two months, madam," said Karenin, eating a piece of blueberry pie.
"You're still like this. You always remember clearly. Everything is just in order. Does your wife make blueberry pie for you?" Mrs. Maillard asked with a smile.
People who have lived to her age sometimes want to understand another person from one person, and hardly need to ask too many things.
"Yes." Karenin replied softly.
"Look, Cade, I told you a long time ago that Alexis will find a good wife. Only a good wife will make him blueberry pie."
Mr. Maillard's face turned blue strangely, and he said dryly: "Honey, I understand this better than anyone else."
When his wife went to pour tea, Mr. Maillard winked at Karenin: "Believe me, no matter how much you like blueberry pie, you will get tired of it after decades of eating." After speaking, Mylar Mr. De ate the blueberry pie in his hand, and he really didn't seem to enjoy it.
Karenin looked at the contents of the small dish, then carefully took another bite, thinking that he would not get tired of this for at least the next ten years.
When Anna heard about her future French teacher from Karenin, her heart began to stir.
Although Karenin couldn't fully guess what his wife was thinking, he always felt that from the other's expression, the reason for her excitement should not be solely due to Mr. Maillard's knowledge.
Karenin was right in his conjecture.
During the first lecture, Mr. Maillard felt that he liked the young Karenin's wife very much.
"What was he like as a kid?" Anna asked during recess.
"Oh, he was a little more interesting when he was a child than now. At that time, I told him that earthworms fell from the sky. He didn't believe it, because he thought that logically speaking, there would be no living things falling from the sky. I let him It took him three days to prove it, but the report he gave me was the most tangled report I have ever seen in my life. It is a pity that the report was lost later.” Mr. Maillard There was a look of regret, and Anna couldn't help laughing.
"Oh my God, I can't believe you treated him like this. Alexey's character, if you throw this kind of problem to him, it will definitely trouble him for half a year."
"Yes, you're right. He never forgot about it, and managed to find logical evidence to refute me after eight months, and I don't think he likes rainy days very much until now." Mai Mr. Ladd blinked.
Anna thought about it carefully in her memory, and found that Karenin was really in a bad mood when it rained, and he would frown and look out the window.
Anna originally thought it was because rainy days are easy to depress, and diplomacy is usually not easy to succeed. So, the rain he saw was not just rain, or was Karenin worried that the rain would turn into earthworms and fall from mid-air for a moment
"You are so, so cute." Anna said to Mr. Maillard with a smile.
"I think so too, and so do you. I was worried about what kind of wife he would find, or rather, what kind of girl I always thought would marry him, excluding those very boring girls who are well-matched, Who can really understand him?" Mr. Maillard sighed, then looked at Anna and smiled.
"But I believe that you are definitely the most suitable for him, just like my Cherie."
Anna smiled and said: "I always feel that I am very lucky. You know, Alexis is a very good person. Sometimes I feel dizzy and suddenly pick up a treasure on the road. So I have to make myself better. Otherwise, anyone who has some knowledge will feel that a good treasure has fallen into my hands. I don’t want others to have that kind of thinking.”
"So, are you going to be worthy of him?" asked Mr. Maillard curiously.
"Yes, as a husband is so good, a wife must also become a good one!" Anna said as a matter of course.
"However, I also really like hearing you tell about his childhood." She blinked.
Mr. Maillard also blinked: "No problem."
Karenin, who was working in the yamen, sneezed inexplicably at this moment.
Two days later, Anna visited Mrs. Maillard at Mr. Maillard's house.
Mrs. Maillard had been a beauty in her youth, though her hair was all silver.
Mrs. Maillard wore a bean paste-colored dress. She was not tall, but she was very energetic and had a very ruddy complexion. She put the place for afternoon tea in the greenhouse, which is a shed she built by herself, which is more like a modern glass greenhouse, but the effect may not be so good.
But anyway, it is indeed a very beautiful garden.
Mrs. Maillard brought out Ceylon tea, tea sets made of polychrome porcelain, and delicately baked pastries.
"Come on, honey, have a taste of these." Mrs. Maillard greeted Anna with tea.
"Your craftsmanship is great!" Anna exclaimed.
Mrs. Maillard laughed happily. She exchanged baking skills with Anna, and finally told some interesting things about Karenin when she was a child. To be honest, that was the part that Anna cared most about.
"Let me think about it. When I first saw him, I thought, this is really a different kid."
Mrs. Maillard smiled, "He was about the same then as he is now. He was very polite and a little rigid. He was really different from other bastards. My husband said he was the best boy he had ever taught. Peace of mind kid. My husband actually cared a lot about Alexey, even though he was always teasing each other."
"I understand." Anna said.
"To be honest, I was a little worried. You know, honey, there's not much room for truth in this circle. The kid is so upright, and he never lies, that we found out later that he was going to leave There were surprises along the way. But, as we all saw, he did a good job."
"What happened in the middle, right?" Anna asked, because a person doesn't change a lot all of a sudden.
"Yes." Mrs. Maillard brushed her hair back.
"Alexey's parents died early, he was fostered at his uncle's house, oh, don't worry, dear," Mrs. Maillard reassured the woman in front of her, "his uncle was a generous man. I miss him The reason for the change should be related to the death of his brother."
"I've heard a little bit, but I don't know much about it." Anna whispered.
"I met his elder brother once, he was indeed a great person, but unfortunately he was not in good health all the time. He died in a foreign land, and I think that was a big blow to Alexei." Myra Mrs. De showed a regretful expression.
"That's when I realized one thing."
"What's the matter?" Anna asked in a daze.
"If it was in front of others, I would never say such a thing. Even an hour ago, I never planned to say more to you. After all, this matter is too private. If someone does not understand He, who doesn't want to love him from the bottom of his heart, I told her about these things, it seems to have exposed his weakness to others. "
Anna was a little surprised when she heard this, and then completely moved. She sat up straight, her eyes were pious and soft, and she said in a voice full of emotion: "I swear I love him."
"Yes, of course you are. Maybe I'm a little old-sighted, but I can still see clearly." Mrs. Maillard smiled.
She said: "At that time, I suddenly realized that the child was not happy. He was born in a wealthy family, but who could understand him? His uncle is a generous and good man, but he didn't He treats it as his own biological child, oh, maybe he can't blame that gentleman like this. People like them, even if they are their own biological children, they don't know how to care about them!"
Mrs. Maillard continued, her voice seemed to reproduce the emotions she felt when she realized all this that day, it was shock and pity.
"So I'm really happy, because he met a girl like you." Mrs. Maillard smiled and looked at Anna.
"I saw your eyes glow when you mentioned him. You really love him."
Anna smiled shyly when she was told, and then admitted: "Yes, I love him."
"You are the first girl I see who can boldly put the word 'love' on her lips. I believe you will be very happy." Mrs. Maillard said in a blessed tone.
When Anna came back from Mrs. Maillard's she brought a bouquet of flowers.
She trimmed the flowers, then found a simple and elegant vase, and put the flower branches in it. She thought about it, and then put the vase in Karenin's study.
She was sitting at the desk in her bedroom, her heart felt a little shivering. She thought about how sad Karenin, who was still a child at that time, would be when he heard of his brother's death.
Anna recalled the memory from the first time she saw Karenin, from the ups and downs of his brows and eyes, and his calm words, she suddenly felt that she had to love him more in the future.
This flood of thoughts is mixed with emotion, sympathy and love. No one can tell, but it doesn't matter anymore.
After Karenin came back on time, he just got out of the carriage and was about to enter the hall when he found someone coming out to greet him.
His wife wore a dark green velvet dress with golden piping, and her dark curly hair was coiled up and wrapped in green velvet fabric in a lace pattern.
The wind froze her face a little red.
As long as he saw this unhealthy flush, Karenin's eyes could no longer look at anything else.
He frowned slightly, even though his wife was running towards him, looking like she wanted to be in his arms, he was more concerned with what was in front of him than surprised.
"Anna, I have to point out again, you can't care less about your body like this."
Karenin took off his coat, and he quickly wrapped his wife's slender body.
Rather than accusing her of being inappropriate, he was more concerned about whether the cold wind just now would make his wife sick.
"I love you." Anna said, her eyes were like a sea, wrapped in all the tenderness, rolling gently in it.
Karenin was really a little dazed, and couldn't even respond to the other party for a long time.
Anna hugged each other again.
The housekeeper, Kearney, had already left, as had the Tatar coachman, and they were the only ones in the yard.
"I love you, Alexei," Anna said again, with a few white breaths from her mouth, her eyes were a little moist, and then she smiled and repeated it.
"I really, really love you very much."
Karenin finally came back to his senses. He raised his hands and hugged his wife gently.
Although Karenin didn't say anything, Anna was already satisfied with being able to convey his thoughts.
She was hugging her husband tightly, and it wasn't very romantic, it was just in the yard, but what did it matter.
All she needs to know is that she loves him and he loves her, that's enough.
This hug didn't last long, maybe a minute, maybe half a minute.
Karenin let go of his hand, he was silent for a while, then his wife took his arm and smiled softly: "Okay, I know how disgraceful this is, and how much you have endured."
"It's a bit disreputable," said Karenin, "but it's fine."
Anna was also a little taken aback, but soon, she smiled softly.
They walked through the hall in a dignified way, and went up the escalator to the second floor. The servants all maintained the most decent expressions, and no one secretly laughed at the hostess' previous actions. Some young girls even had a feeling in their hearts at that moment more romantic thoughts.
Before this, no one would think that such things as romance would appear in this luxurious and cool house, but now, no one would doubt it.