but sex.  you are twenty three. not an easy age for abstinence, is it?
he despises them, in fact.
i don't want to belabor the point, but i arranged for a manservant last year who proceeded to ruin two housemaids just like that. he was very upset.
yes, i've heard many good things about you. i've even read what you`ve written. so has he.
my dear boy, if you were to become tolstoy's private secretary, you would be given a great gift. you'll be with him every day, eat together, walk in the forest by his side.
well, we have a lot to do if we are to get his work to the people.
yes, we. if we can encourage the spread of passive resistance. just think of it valentin thousands of ordinary russians casting off centuries of spiritual and political oppression-
truth and freedom, yes but still, my boy, there are so many enemies-
the czar's police. you'll be followed when you leave here. and the church will stop at nothing to bring him back into the fold. his children can't be trusted.  only sasha.  and then of course there is the countess.  well, one doesn't like to come between married people whatever the circumstances, but her dogged attachment to private property, her public criticism of our movement.
and although they've allowed me to return to russia, i can't see him. they keep me under house arrest.  they might as well keep me in a cage.
so, i need you to put these letters directly into his hands. one can't be sure what gets through to him.
sofya andreyevna does not respect his privacy.
i have another task for you, my dear.
you'll keep a diary for me.
i need to know everything that goes on at yasnaya polyana. let me know who visits the house, any talk of the copyright to his work, any contact with the church, what letters come and go. anything sofya andreyevna says.
she's very, very dangerous.
godspeed, my boy.
and remember what i said.
write everything down! go!
sofya andreyevna, i'm happy to see you.
i'm glad to have a moment alone with you, valentin. how do you think you're getting on?
yes. he seems satisfied and that's good. the reports i've received from you however.  there seems to be some confusion.
you send me never ending commentary on tolstoy's writing. that's all very interesting but not very useful. i need to know what goes on with sofya andreyevna. you must see by now she's committed to undermining her husband's best intentions.
because she is duplicitous. you are very bright. too bright to let her into you.
you value our work?
the ideals we share?
good, of course it is. do you think the countess suspects something?
how so?
what does she say?
we simply want to distribute tolstoy's work to the widest audience possible. she just has no understanding what it is we are trying to do. theres nothing in it for any of us but a real chance to increase the worlds happiness.
i can only be of limited help to the master if i don't know what's going on. any effort she makes to shore up control of the copyright, i must know. the survival of our movement depends on it. remember who your friends are. what you've come here to do.
what are you doing?
you've killed a living thing.
do you have something to say?
it's not the message we want to send.
perhaps sasha's right. encouraging this may not be the best thing.
how does she know it even exists?
he is obviously not thinking clearly. and now we have to put up with her petty grasping.
i beg your pardon?
and you're her advocate? you've been taken in by her celebrity. i worried about this.
we should see her. act as if nothing has happened.
sofya andreyevna, at last, you honour us with your visit.
what is it?
it's a problem of the wax.
you're very kind. sofya andreyevna. but i can't help you. not without specific instructions from your husband.
no witness you produce will change my position. but i'll certainly talk to leo nikolayevich at the first opportunity.
i want us to be friends, too, sofya. leo nikolayevich is the most valuable thing in the world, for both of us. we should endeavor to set things right between us. give him peace. let him work.
i hate to say it but the countess has become more and more dangerous.
and we're concerned for the welfare of mankind. take this down.
you've been more than reasonable. she already controls the income from your property.
we're speaking only of the rights to your words, your ideas.
but you're more than a husband and father. she must understand that. the best interests of the people are one with your own. you belong to them.
she's unstable. i wonder if she isn't ill.
do you really think she's fit to control the final disposition of the will?
what are you afraid of?
the press is bloodthirsty. had i wished, i could've demolished you and your family. you make it easy.
i have too much respect for leo nikolayevich. you're lucky.
if i had a wife like you, i would have blown my brains out long ago. or gone to america.
good afternoon, leo nikolayevich.
this will insure that the complete works will live in the public domain.
your work is the birthright of the russian people. now, they possess it forever.
yes?
of course.
what?
you're a secretary. how can you not have a pen?
valentin fedorovich, do you have a pen?
are you alright?
thank you again, valentin fedorovich, for your forethought.
you know i had thought for a time to suggest that leo nikolayevich look for someone else. but. he said no. he said "he reminds me of myself when i was young."
really.
she is leading you around the nose.
yes.  the love he tells us to practice, the love of the gospels. why do i have to explain this? perfect love. eternal love. the love that binds mankind together.
leo nikolayevich also teaches us love can not be weakminded. go. you won't be missed . a naive sentimentalist
why are you laughing? you think i'm ridiculous.
bulgakov! where is he? take me to him.
he left. astonishing. he actually, finally left.
it's a triumph for the movement.
he looks so small.
my dear friend, waht is all of this?
i've made a point not to.
and we'll be ready.
not before she stops to tell them lies, catalogue my atrocities.
do you really want to do this here?
are you finished?
you're imagining things.
she's at home.
kind thoughts from george bernard shaw.
keep your voice down.
what exactly do you think she will bring him?
ill tell you what shell bring. vanity, fuss and noise.
what? promised you what? youve seen her at close quarters, boy. you think shes capable of restraining herself?
you're a victim of her romantic nonsense. you seem to forget she wants to destroy everything we do. she travels with that unctious little priest.
these people are vultures. they send in at the last moment and welcome him back to the church. that's their fantasy. a death bed recantation. do you have any idea the damage it would do? everything he's dreamed of, everything we've worked for will be gone. a simple noble death is what we want. it is what he wants.
i will do everything in my power to prevent that.
i used to think you were just naive, valentin, maybe a little stupid. i see now you're more dangerous than she is.
it's almost over.
he wont know who she is anyway.
i am sorry, sofya andreyevna.