Anna Karenina - Part 2

A woman's step was heard mounting the stairs. Alexey

Alexandrovitch, ready for his speech, stood compressing his

crossed fingers, waiting to see if the crack would not come

again. One joint cracked.

Already, from the sound of light steps on the stairs, he was

aware that she was close, and though he was satisfied with his

speech, he felt frightened of the explanation confronting him...