When Anna found Dolly at home before her, she looked intently in
her eyes, as though questioning her about the talk she had had
with Vronsky, but she made no inquiry in words.
"I believe it's dinner time," she said. "We've not seen each
other at all yet. I am reckoning on the evening. Now I want to
go and dress. I expect you do too; we all got splashed at the
buildings."
Dolly went to her room and she felt amused. To change her dress
was impossible, for she had already put on her best dress. But
in order to signify in some way her preparation for dinner, she
asked the maid to brush her dress, changed her cuffs and tie, and
put some lace on her head.
"This is all I can do," she said with a smile to Anna, who came
in to her in a third dress, again of extreme simplicity.
"Yes, we are too formal here," she said, as it were apologizing
for her magnificence. "Alexey is delighted at your visit, as he
rarely is at anything. He has completely lost his heart to you,"
she added. "You're not tired?"
There was no time for talking about anything before dinner.
Going into the drawing room they found Princess Varvara already
there, and the gentlemen of the party in black frock-coats. The
architect wore a swallow-tail coat. Vronsky presented the
doctor and the steward to his guest. The architect he had
already introduced to her at the hospital.
A stout butler, resplendent with a smoothly shaven round chin and
a starched white cravat, announced that dinner was ready, and the
ladies got up. Vronsky asked Sviazhsky to take in Anna
Arkadyevna, and himself offered his arm to Dolly. Veslovsky was
before Tushkevitch in offering his arm to Princess Varvara, so
that Tushkevitch with the steward and the doctor walked in alone.
The dinner, the dining room, the service, the waiting at table,
the wine, and the food, were not simply in keeping with the
general tone of modern luxury throughout all the house, but
seemed even more sumptuous and modern. Darya Alexandrovna
watched this luxury which was novel to her, and as a good
housekeeper used to managing a household--although she never
dreamed of adapting anything she saw to her own household, as it
was all in a style of luxury far above her own manner of
living--she could not help scrutinizing every detail, and
wondering how and by whom it was all done. Vassenka Veslovsky,
her husband, and even Sviazhsky, and many other people she knew,
would never have considered this question, and would have readily
believed what every well-bred host tries to make his guests feel,
that is, that all that is well-ordered in his house has cost him,
the host, no trouble whatever, but comes of itself. Darya
Alexandrovna was well aware that even porridge for the children's
breakfast does not come of itself, and that therefore, where so
complicated and magnificent a style of luxury was maintained,
someone must give earnest attention to its organization. And
from the glance with which Alexey Kirillovitch scanned the table,
from the way he nodded to the butler, and offered Darya
Alexandrovna her choice between cold soup and hot soup, she saw
that it was all organized and maintained by the care of the
master of the house himself. It was evident that it all rested
no more upon Anna than upon Veslovsky. She, Sviazhsky, the
princess, and Veslovsky, were equally guests, with light hearts
enjoying what had been arranged for them.