Mikhail Bestuzhev

Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin took off his overcoat, hung up his cocked hat, and, trying to step softly, walked into the living room. He paused at the threshold, afraid to frighten the moment. His Nyusechka, Anna Alekseyevna, sat in a low chair at the head of a small cradle.

Nyusya had a thin diaper in her hands, and she, tilting her head to the side, carefully adjusted it.

The girl snored in her sleep, occasionally smacking her lips. And she, having made sure everything was fine, didn't remove her hand. She simply placed her palm on top of the blanket, where a small body could be discerned, and froze.

Mikhail stared and couldn't stop staring. He remembered their first ball, her shyness when he, a twenty-year-old officer, had asked her, still a young girl. The general's father had looked askance at his less-than-affluent position, but could anyone resist that quiet, pure beauty?

He didn't notice the floorboard creak.

Nyusechka shuddered, raised her head and, seeing her husband, smiled a completely different smile - joyful and lively.

"Misha!" she whispered, placing a finger to her lips and nodding toward the cradle. "Quiet, she's finally asleep."

She rose easily from the chair, lingering her gaze on her daughter for a second, and slipped out into the living room, silently closing the door behind her.

"Oh, my God, you walk like a bear!" she whispered, a little more boldly, approaching him and placing her hands on his chest. "I barely got her to bed; she's been cranky all evening."

"I'm sorry, chérie," Mikhail put his arm around her slender waist, pulling her closer. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I was looking at you... and I couldn't come in."

"I'll probably still get a nanny, though," the girl said suddenly with a sly note, pulling away and taking his arm to lead him to the dining room, where a cold dinner awaited him on the table. "So I have time for you, mon précieux. Otherwise, look how jealous you've become—of your own daughter."

Mikhail laughed softly, pressing her hand to himself.

"I'm not jealous of Katya. I thank God for both of you."