Zarubkin.
* * * * *
It was seven o'clock in the evening. Mrs. Shaldin and her trunk had
arrived hardly half an hour before, yet the captain's wife was already
there paying visit; which was a sign of the warm friendship that
existed between the two women. They kissed each other and fell to
talking. The doctor, a tall man of forty-five, seemed discomfited by
the visit, and passed unfriendly side glances at his guest. He had
hoped to spend that evening undisturbed with his wife, and he well
knew that when the ladies of the regiment came to call upon each other
"for only a second," it meant a whole evening of listening to idle
talk.
"You wouldn't believe me, dear, how bored I was the whole time you
were away, how I longed for you, Natalie Semyonovna. But you probably
never gave us a thought."
"Oh, how can you say anything like that. I was thinking of you every
minute, every second. If I hadn't been obliged to finish the cure, I
should have returned long ago. No matter how beautiful it may be away
from home, still the only place to live is among those that are near
and dear to you.
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