"Don't worry. Get some rest from the road. Put your thoughts in order, I'm not driving you away, " Ivanich replied amiably. – If you don't want to tell me anything, I won't torture you." Make yourself at home. As long as it takes – as long as you stay. The place is there, it's raining outside, and the forecast as I heard for these couple of days is not at all optimistic. Get some rest. If you need me, you will find me upstairs, my door is number eight, by the way, we will be familiar-Ivanich.

The man extended a friendly hand for a gesture of familiarity.

"Ivanitch?" – the girl held out her injured hand in response , – and the name?

"Everyone here calls me Ivanitch. I'm used to it already, so let it be.

The girl showed confusion on her face, but shook hands and introduced herself in response:

– Alina.

"That's nice," Ivanitch winked, carefully holding the girl's hand, then released her and went upstairs to his room.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the number eight door.

"It's not locked," a familiar male voice said.

Alina opened the door, and with a surprised, admiring expression on her face, she asked softly:

"Are you really the same Ivanitch?"

***

"Apparently, we have mutual acquaintances," Ivanich replied with an interesting grin, after a pause.

"I don't have much time, but I have a lot of questions, and I don't know what to do with it.

The owner of the manor left the room, closed the door behind him and began to descend the stairs, knocking over as if by accident:

"Questions are only temporary, and you have more time than I do, my dear girl. Come on, let's continue our conversation in a more inviting place than the doorway.

Alina stood at the door for a while longer, then went downstairs, where the owner of the establishment was waiting for her in a cozy chair, leafing through an old, battered book. Opposite him was an identical chair, obviously prepared for the girl. It was unfolded in a slightly different way than before Alina went upstairs.

"Please, Alina, make yourself comfortable," Ivanitch pointed delicately to a chair.

The girl narrowed her brow, put the mobile phone she was still fiddling with in her pocket, and sat down. The chair was very comfortable. It made for a long, pleasant conversation. And the older man's suavity was also endearing.

"So, I see you know a little more about me than I have told you about myself," Ivanitch asked, and put down his book, evidently having read something with which he was satisfied.

Alina stared at the man sitting across from her and put something together in her mind. Ivanich noticed this and lowered his gaze, smiling faintly, giving the girl the opportunity to calmly, without visual crosshairs, finish her conclusions.

– I called my … – the girl paused for a moment, but then quickly continued, – my good friend. I explained the situation to him, told him what had happened, and he was about to send help for me, but when I said that I was staying with a certain Ivanich…

The girl paused, looking at the owner of the house a little confused, he in turn nodded approvingly, and the girl continued.

"Well, when I told him that I was staying with you, he somehow changed his tone and overall plan of action so abruptly that I must admit I was very surprised.

"What did you say?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders, batted her eyelashes, and blurted out, almost in a rapid voice, what she had heard from her friend on the phone: "As long as you're at Ivanich's, you're safe. Don't be in a hurry to leave him, it will be one of the best periods that you have ever had and will have to go through."

The man remained incredibly calm, and seemed to have no intention of commenting on this statement. Alina continued:

"I asked him what it all meant, but …

– Pavel Andreevich didn't really say anything… Am I right? Ivanitch interrupted at a good moment.

The girl's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"He just told me to call him tomorrow morning and hung up." I don't understand anything at all. How do you know that I called Pavel Andreevich? Are you a clairvoyant ?

"A little.".. For the most part, I hear, see a lot less, but… Under the mood, I can even look at something like this… Ivanich's