Anna Karenina - Part 5

"There are no more tenors. _Le moule en est brisé!_"

Vronsky bowed to her and stopped to greet Stremov.

"You came in late, I think, and have missed the best song," Anna

said to Vronsky, glancing ironically, he thought, at him.

"I am a poor judge of music," he said, looking sternly at her.

"Like Prince Yashvin," she said smiling, "who considers that

Patti sings too loud."

"Thank you," she said, her little hand in its long glove taking

the playbill Vronsky picked up, and suddenly at that instant her

lovely face quivered. She got up and went into the interior of

the box.

Noticing in the next act that her box was empty, Vronsky, rousing

indignant "hushes" in the silent audience, went out in the middle

of a solo and drove home.

Anna was already at home. When Vronsky went up to her, she was

in the same dress as she had worn at the theater. She was

sitting in the first armchair against the wall, looking straight

before her. She looked at him, and at once resumed her former

position.

"Anna," he said.

"You, you are to blame for everything!" she cried, with tears of

despair and hatred in her voice, getting up.

"I begged, I implored you not to go, I knew it would be

unpleasant...."

"Unpleasant!" she cried--"hideous! As long as I live I shall

never forget it. She said it was a disgrace to sit beside me."

"A silly woman's chatter," he said: "but why risk it, why

provoke?..."

"I hate your calm. You ought not to have brought me to this. If

you had loved me..."

"Anna! How does the question of my love come in?"

"Oh, if you loved me, as I love, if you were tortured as I

am!..." she said, looking at him with an expression of terror.

He was sorry for her, and angry notwithstanding. He assured her

of his love because he saw that this was the only means of

soothing her, and he did not reproach her in words, but in his

heart he reproached her.

And the asseverations of his love, which seemed to him so vulgar

that he was ashamed to utter them, she drank in eagerly, and

gradually became calmer. The next day, completely reconciled,

they left for the country.