: The poor landowner and the wife of his friend love each other for many years, but are afraid to confess their love, believing that they are unworthy of her. Only parting forever, they understand what little things prevented them from loving.
The old bachelor Pavel Konstantinovich Alyokhin received guests at his estate.
Pavel Konstantinovich Alyokhin - the owner of a large, but not wealthy estate, a bachelor, intelligent and educated, soft and indecisive
At breakfast, they talked about the cook serving at Alekhine. A beautiful maid was in love with this cook, but she did not marry him. The cook was pious, did not want to live with a woman outside marriage, often got drunk and beat her.
This story prompted guests to engage in discussions about love. Alekhine believed that no one knew how love was born. He did not understand why this beautiful woman fell in love with such an unpleasant person, and believed that Russians complicate love with “fatal questions” - is it good or bad, honest or dishonest, and to what all this will lead. Such questions interfere with love and pose insurmountable obstacles to the most powerful feelings.
As an example, Alekhine told the story of his life.
Lonely people always have something in their souls that they would gladly tell.
Father Alyokhin had a great debt, partly because he spent a lot on his son’s education. Therefore, having graduated from the university, Alekhine returned to his native estate, determined to work out his debt.
By nature, Alyokhin was a Belorussian woman and at first did not want to part with "her cultural habits." He settled in the front rooms, drank coffee with liquors in the morning, and read The Herald of Europe at night. But such a life did not last long. Alyokhin got involved in work that he did not like at all, ate in a human room and often spent the night not in his bed, but "in a barn, in a sleigh or somewhere in a forest gatehouse."
At the very beginning, Alekhine became an honorary magistrate, and his only entertainment was “to run into the city and take part in the meetings of the congress and the district court”. In the early spring, during one of these trips, Alyokhin met Dmitry Luganovich, a fellow chairman of the district court, and his lovely wife Anna Alekseevna.
Dmitry Luganovich - a judicial official over forty years old, kind, but boring and limited
Anna Alekseevna - wife of Luganovich, much younger than her husband, slender, beautiful blonde, smart, intelligent
Alekhine has not yet met such a pretty, kind and intelligent woman. It was evident that the Luganovich family lived together - the spouses did everything together, their daughter grew up. All summer Alekhin remembered the blond Anna Alekseevna, but saw her again only in late autumn.
They met at a charity performance, and since then Alekhine has become his own in their house.He came without an invitation, played with a child, talked with Anna Alekseevna for a long time. The Luganovichi knew about Alekhine’s plight, constantly worried about him, believed that such an educated person should do science, and tried to lend him money. The Luganovichi were wealthy people, but Alekhine tried not to borrow from them, and then they simply gave him valuable things.
The unfortunate Alekhine, in love with Anna Alekseevna, could not understand what made her become the wife of a middle-aged, uninteresting and too simple Luganovich for her. Arriving in the city, Alekhin understood that Anna Alekseevna was waiting for him, but they did not have the courage to confess to each other in love.
Alekhin believed that he could not give anything to Anna Alekseevna, and therefore was not in the right to destroy her happy family. She thought about her husband and children and believed that her love would not bring Alyokhin happiness - it seemed to her that she was not young enough and energetic.
Years passed. Anna Alekseevna gave birth to a second child. Children called Alekhine’s uncle, and adults considered him a "noble creature." Anna Alekseevna began to realize that her life was spoiled, and was treated for a nervous breakdown. Alekhine annoyed her, and in public she constantly contradicted him.
Luganovich was appointed chairman of the western province. While her husband was selling property, Anna Alekseevna decided to go to heal her nerves in Crimea. She was escorted by a large crowd. Before leaving the train, Alekhine noticed that she had forgotten one of the baskets and ran into the carriage.
Left alone, at this last moment they confessed their love to each other, and Alekhine realized how small everything was that prevented them from loving.
... when you love, in your arguments about this love you must proceed from the highest, from what is more important than happiness or unhappiness, sin or virtue ... or you should not reason at all.
They kissed and broke up forever.
After listening to the story, the guests went to the balcony, admired the view, felt sorry for such an educated person who did not do science, but spun like a squirrel in a wheel, and thought about the mournful scene of farewell. One of the guests was even familiar with Anna Alekseevna and "found her beautiful."
