Anna Karenina - Part 3

They heard the sound of steps and a man's voice, then a woman's

voice and laughter, and immediately thereafter there walked in

the expected guests: Sappho Shtoltz, and a young man beaming with

excess of health, the so-called Vaska. It was evident that ample

supplies of beefsteak, truffles, and Burgundy never failed to

reach him at the fitting hour. Vaska bowed to the two ladies,

and glanced at them, but only for one second. He walked after

Sappho into the drawing-room, and followed her about as though he

were chained to her, keeping his sparkling eyes fixed on her as

though he wanted to eat her. Sappho Shtoltz was a blonde beauty

with black eyes. She walked with smart little steps in

high-heeled shoes, and shook hands with the ladies vigorously

like a man.

Anna had never met this new star of fashion, and was struck by

her beauty, the exaggerated extreme to which her dress was

carried, and the boldness of her manners. On her head there was

such a superstructure of soft, golden hair--her own and false

mixed--that her head was equal in size to the elegantly rounded

bust, of which so much was exposed in front. The impulsive

abruptness of her movements was such that at every step the lines

of her knees and the upper part of her legs were distinctly

marked under her dress, and the question involuntarily rose to

the mind where in the undulating, piled-up mountain of material

at the back the real body of the woman, so small and slender, so

naked in front, and so hidden behind and below, really came to an

end.

Betsy made haste to introduce her to Anna.

"Only fancy, we all but ran over two soldiers," she began telling

them at once, using her eyes, smiling and twitching away her

tail, which she flung back at one stroke all on one side. "I

drove here with Vaska.... Ah, to be sure, you don't know each

other." And mentioning his surname she introduced the young man,

and reddening a little, broke into a ringing laugh at her

mistake--that is, at her having called him Vaska to a stranger.

Vaska bowed once more to Anna, but he said nothing to her. He

addressed Sappho: "You've lost your bet. We got here first. Pay

up," said he, smiling.

Sappho laughed still more festively.

"Not just now," said she.

"Oh, all right, I'll have it later."

"Very well, very well. Oh, yes." She turned suddenly to

Princess Betsy: "I am a nice person...I positively forgot it...

I've brought you a visitor. And here he comes." The unexpected

young visitor, whom Sappho had invited, and whom she had

forgotten, was, however, a personage of such consequence that, in

spite of his youth, both the ladies rose on his entrance.