A Noble Marriage - Chapter 20
Chapter 20 – Harbour Lights (1)
Candles, bright lights, a legal marriage, a husband and a wife.
Karenin passed the menu to the waiter. He looked at his wife and asked, “What is on your mind?”
“This is our first time having dinner together.”
“I think this is our third time having dinner together.” Karenin disagreed.
“What I meant is us having dinner like this – just the two of us spending time together outside, and having all these candles.” Anna’s voice became louder as she spoke, strongly emphasizing on the candles that were placed in front of them.
Karenin’s eyes slowly shifted away from the candles. He didn’t really understand what Anna was feeling, but he was not going to spoil the atmosphere by asking.
Under the candlelight, Anna’s cheeks appeared rosy as always. Suddenly, her body swayed a little to the side as she took out a small handkerchief and sneezed into it.
He suddenly had a bad premonition. “Are you feeling unwell?”
“I am not sure.” Anna replied before sneezing again.
Karenin stood up and walked to Anna’s side. As Anna gazed at him with confusion, he placed the back of his hands against her forehead. Indeed, her forehead was a little hot.
“It’s a little hot to the touch.” He took off his hand after he spoke. Looking at Anna, Karenin spoke again, “You are a little feverish.”
Anna was taken aback as she realised – her quickened pulse rate and the heat she felt from her cheeks were not because of tonight’s dinner date.
“I think it shouldn’t be an issue.” Anna replied hesitatingly.
“Let’s visit a doctor after dinner.” Karenin decided. As he sat back down in his seat, he waved to the waiter.
“Do we have to? I feel really fine, maybe I’ll be better after sleeping tonight.”
“It’s best to see the doctor immediately instead of dragging it out.” Karenin frowned as he tried to convince Anna otherwise.
“Alright then.”
Karenin requested for the waiter to help them invite a doctor to visit, and passed some tips to him. Even though this was a service that the hotel provides but receiving tips from a guest would definitely make the hotel staff feel more obliged and happy to carry out his instructions faster.
Anna waited for the staff to leave before whispering, “I thought you were an upright person.”
“This has nothing to do with being upright. Anna, when you need efficiency, then you cannot be stingy with your money.” As Karenin replied, he took Anna’s cup of water and poured her some warm water instead.
Enjoying a dinner that met her heart’s wishes, receiving her husband’s affection and care, and being diagnosed by the doctor that her illness was nothing serious, Anna genuinely felt that today was not a bad day at all. This was despite the day not turning out the way she had imagined; she had imagined that she would visit The Canal Saint-Martin to view the turquoise skies and river on the very first day she stepped onto Paris.
“I didn’t visit anywhere today.” As she spoke, the blanket was being laid onto her body.
“Anna, you are not to go anywhere. You are sick and need to rest.” Karenin spoke gently to her as if he was placating a child.
“I know.” Anna watched Karenin and asked, “Are you still heading out tomorrow?”
“Yes I have to, I can only be back around 5pm tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“I still need to read some documents.” Karenin told her, and Anna nodded her head in understanding.
Even though she slept much during the day, but when a person is unwell, their body will need more rest than usual. Anna had thought that it would be difficult for her to fall asleep, when in fact, she was asleep once again after ten minutes.
Karenin finished his work earlier around 9.30pm. After washing up and returning to the bedroom, he realised that Anna’s sleep didn’t seem very peaceful. Her breathing sounded laborious. Perhaps due to the fever, she had kicked her blanket away too.
Karenin covered Anna with the blanket again.
The bed was large enough. After blowing out the candles, Karenin lay down in the bed and snuggled under his blanket. Soon, a hand suddenly stretched over, and it was accompanied by some muffled coughs.
It was difficult to discern in the dark, but one could hear the ruffling sounds of the bedsheets.
Karenin could feel the person in his arms struggle against him, and he lightly tapped on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
It was going to be a long night.
When the skies were dark, and the stars were out, shimmering away, Anna woke up abruptly.
Her body instinctively wanted to struggle to get free, and yet she felt trapped within.
As she raised her head, she realised she was being hugged by Karenin.
Lub dub… lub dub…His heartbeat was right against her ear.
Feeling the familiar warmth, Anna closed her eyes again, and snuggled into his chest.
*
When she woke up again, Karenin was no longer around. Looking at the time, he should have already left. Her fever was gone, and her temperature was back to normal. She suddenly noticed a note placed on dresser table by the bed.
The handwriting was neat, and the message was concise.
Anna couldn’t help but hug her pillow tightly and smile to herself; a sense of marriage bliss was enveloping her and her surroundings this beautiful morning.
Finally, it was time for breakfast. Anna was tempted to head out to walk around, but decided that it would be better to wait till Karenin returned.
At lunch, a letter was delivered to her. It was from her husband.
He was asking if she has recovered and was feeling better. Just a line of words. This message was not cheap; delivery by hand was very expensive.
Anna felt like a dutiful wife that stayed home and kept the home clean. She wrote a page full of words before placing it back inside an envelope.
The cost was the same. Ah see, this is the difference in maximising the costs!
She decided to read another book, but it felt like time was crawling by. Whenever Anna looked at the clock, she couldn’t help but wonder if the clock had stopped working.
At 4pm, she received another letter from her husband.
It wasn’t filled with sweet nothings; the message was similarly short as before, but was informing of a bad news.