Free The House by the Dvina by Eugenie Fraser

the tilt of the head conveyed something that was elusive, truly Russian, and is second nature to every peasant girl. She was following the various commands of the chanting, “Bow to us all Ч Ai Lullie, Ai Lullie.
    Bow to us all Ч Ai Lullie.” She stopped and bowed, touching the ground with the tips of her fingers and danced on to the next bidding and finally on to the last command when the circling halts and she is told, “Kiss the one that you love best Ч Ai Lullie, Ai Lullie.” For a moment she hesitated, then danced across to Eugene, kissed him lightly, pushed him inside the circle, and, taking his place, joined hands with the others.
    The circling and chanting commenced again, this time around Eugene. That is what the Khorovod is all about and that was how the romance began between a simple peasant girl and a cultured young man from a privileged background.
    Anna was not only attractive, but also highly intelligent. Brought up in the big house where there were books and having been taught to read and write by the local priest, she avidly read everything she could possibly find. Likewise she was influenced by a deeply religious mother whose moral standards were high. Eugene had known many girls, had many flirtations, if not affairs, in far off Archangel, but now this was something different.
    They fell sincerely in love, yet both knew that between them there lay a great gulf, impossible to be bridged. She was a peasant and a serf as well. Both she and her mother belonged to the landowner. The days when Aleksandr II would free all serfs were still in the future. Anna was resigned to saying goodbye when the time came for Eugene to go back to the north. Eugene, a determined young man, had other ideas. He had decided to marry Anna. Knowing that the only way was to buy her, he approached his host, who was horrified and adamant in his refusal to sell the girl. He warned Eugene of the wrath to come if he agreed to his proposition, and that he himself as a friend of the family would be placed in a position where EugeneТs parents, with every justification, would accuse him of betraying their trust in him. Yet in the end, after prolonged arguments and discussion, perhaps because of some spark of humanity, or a romantic streak in his nature, or even possibly a profitable offer, he agreed to sell Anna.
    Now there came a second formidable barrier, this time from Anna herself.
    Her mother was a widow. There were no other brothers or sisters to take her place if she left her. She and her mother, having only each other, were very close, and, as much as this golden future beckoned, she utterly refused to leave her mother. The bargaining and cajoling began all over again. In the end the landowner, by now resigned to the inevitable, sold both, the mother and the daughter.
    What was the price? I have at times wondered idly. It is a matter of interesting conjecture, but I shall never know the answer. They were married by the local priest in the little church in the village. The young sons of the landowner acted as sponsors and AnnaТs mother, Feodosiya, gave her blessing. From the church, accompanied by the villagers singing and chanting, they returned to the house where a table had been spread by their kind host for a few friends.
    In the courtyard, beside the steps of the house, a troika was waiting. A group of children and villagers had gathered to say farewells to the bridal couple and Feodosiya. Nothing like this romance had ever happened before in their village. That Anna was not only free but was married to a “Barin” Ч a gentleman, and was now a “Barynya” herself, a lady who would have her own house and servants, own carriages and horses Ч was nothing short of a miracle. That would be something to talk about for years and pass on to their children. They left as the sun was rolling to the west.
    The horses ran briskly through the village then turned and took the road to the north.
    Many romantic songs and tales have been