Читать книгу The story of Baba Yaga and Koschei the Immortal, their birth and life. You haven’t heard this story yet - - Страница 6

As soon as Katerina left Yegor’s cabin, he immediately went to meet Mitka. He had known Mitka for a long time, and they had been friends since childhood. They were also neighbors and lived on the same street.

Mitka was not a particularly handsome blond man, and he was not the smartest, but he had managed to survive in this world thanks to his cunning. As a child, he had become an orphan and had no home, growing up in a local orphanage. When he noticed Yegor, a well-groomed and richly dressed boy, he immediately wanted to be his friend. From then on, he never left Yegor’s side. He even resorted to flattery and feigned kindness to get closer to him. He always pretended to be ready to help. He was a great joker. He valued their friendship very much. And he succeeded. Yegor made Mitka his chief assistant in business matters when he bought his first ship with his inheritance. I also started trusting him with all my secrets.

With the help of such a patron, Mitka got a very well-paid job and bought a house in the neighborhood. However, he never managed to get married. It could be due to his intimidating appearance, or it could be his desire to become rich. He had dedicated his entire life to work. He wanted to have everything that he had missed out on as a child, and that he had envied when he looked at Yegor. He no longer had time for women.

When Egor found Mitka, he was already working hard on his papers in the early morning.

– Mitya, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. There’s an urgent matter! – Egor shouted as he entered the room, where they were alone.

– Good morning, Egor Stepanovich! How can I help you? – Mitka said jokingly with a serious expression.

– I hope no one is listening… Do you want to get married?

– Who? When? Why? I hadn’t thought about it,” Mitka said awkwardly, blushing and scratching the back of his head.

– So, what I’m about to say will remain a secret between us. Okay? Can I count on you, my friend? You’ve never let me down.

– Of course, what are you saying? Of course I’ll keep our secrets. Go on, you’ve got me intrigued, – replied Egor, a smile spreading across his face.

– I think I cheated on my wife. But I will never do it again. Do you hear me? Never! And she shouldn’t find out about it. The girl who woke up in bed with me today suddenly claims that she could have gotten pregnant during the night. But I don’t remember anything about our night together, I was unconscious from drinking. I don’t know if anything happened or not.

Mitka’s eyes widened in surprise, and he thought for a long time in silence.

– Egor, this is not like you at all. It’s like a bucket of ice water has been poured on me right now. Mitka scratched the back of his head again, eyebrows raised in surprise, and continued. “And you’re asking me to marry her?” Well, of course I don’t mind a nice lady in my house, I hardly ever go there. I’ll give her a small budget for personal expenses, let her have fun and entertain me. But are you sure she’ll agree to me being so ugly and not rich? And what about your child, if you have one?

– I’ve thought it over. I’ll give you a wedding gift – a ship. And you’ll be able to work for yourself instead of me. You’ve already learned everything from me, and you’ll be able to manage all your own affairs. And I understand that she needs my money. So she’ll marry me for my money. And if I have a child with her, I’ll give him a ship when he reaches adulthood. But please, wait at least three months before your wedding night.

– Why three?

“If she gives birth in nine months, she can blackmail me with rumors that it’s from me, even if it’s your child. But if she gives birth in twelve months, there’s no doubt that it’s your child. And you’ll know for sure. Don’t you want to know for sure?”

“That’s brilliant. I hadn’t thought of that,” Mitya smirked.

“So, let’s make a deal.”

“Why not?” Good, – Mitka held out his hand to Yegor.

– Good.

The men sealed the deal with a firm handshake, both of them looking pleased and smiling at each other with bright eyes.

– We’ll introduce you in the evening, and tomorrow we’ll have a wedding right on the ship. You’ll come up with a story about how you met and fell in love. You’ll tell my wife and everyone around you about it. – said Egor at the end.

In the evening, the bride and groom met, and the next morning, they had a wedding, just as they had planned.

The bride was displeased, but she held back her emotions, because she still had a plan. She decided that if Olga left Yegor on her own, he would have no choice but to throw himself into the arms of Katerina, who was pregnant with his child. This would lead to the annulment of Mitya and Katerina’s marriage, and Katerina would become Yegor’s wife. The chances of this happening would increase if Katerina became truly pregnant. It wouldn’t matter who the father was, as long as she claimed it was Yegor.

At the nearest stop in the city, Katerina sent a letter to Olga with a messenger. In the letter, she vividly described her night with Yegor. She informed Olga that she was pregnant with Yegor’s child. She asked Olga not to torment Yegor and to let him go. She lied and claimed that Yegor had long complained to her about his wife’s infertility and his dreams of having a child. Now, as they awaited the arrival of their child, Yegor was filled with happiness and secretly hoped that Olga would leave the house with her pride intact, avoiding the shame of being forced out. After all, now Egor loves not his wife, but the mother of his child.

The letter reached Olga. She also heard rumors that a hasty, lavish wedding had been held on the ship, but the identity of the bride and groom was unknown.

Katerina tried to spend the night with her new husband in order to get pregnant, but Mitka refused and avoided her. After her unsuccessful attempts, Mitka realized that she intended to have a child and name Yegor as the father. He decided not to give her this chance and, after the agreed-upon time, to have an heir of his own in order to subdue his wife and discourage her from thinking about Yegor. Moreover, he assigned guards to their cabin and ordered them to keep an eye on her for the next three months, so that no man would be near her and no one would be able to speak to her.