Anna Karenina - Part 7

Levin found his wife low-spirited and dull. The dinner of the

three sisters had gone off very well, but then they had waited

and waited for him, all of them had felt dull, the sisters had

departed, and she had been left alone.

"Well, and what have you been doing?" she asked him, looking

straight into his eyes, which shone with rather a suspicious

brightness. But that she might not prevent his telling her

everything, she concealed her close scrutiny of him, and with an

approving smile listened to his account of how he had spent the

evening.

"Well, I'm very glad I met Vronsky. I felt quite at ease and

natural with him. You understand, I shall try not to see him,

but I'm glad that this awkwardness is all over," he said, and

remembering that by way of trying not to see him, he had

immediately gone to call on Anna, he blushed. "We talk about the

peasants drinking; I don't know which drinks most, the peasantry

or our own class; the peasants do on holidays, but..."

But Kitty took not the slightest interest in discussing the

drinking habits of the peasants. She saw that he blushed, and

she wanted to know why.

"Well, and then where did you go?"

"Stiva urged me awfully to go and see Anna Arkadyevna."

And as he said this, Levin blushed even more, and his doubts as

to whether he had done right in going to see Anna were settled

once for all. He knew now that he ought not to have done so.

Kitty's eyes opened in a curious way and gleamed at Anna's name,

but controlling herself with an effort, she concealed her emotion

and deceived him.

"Oh!" was all she said.

"I'm sure you won't be angry at my going. Stiva begged me to,

and Dolly wished it," Levin went on.

"Oh, no!" she said, but he saw in her eyes a constraint that

boded him no good.

"She is a very sweet, very, very unhappy, good woman," he said,

telling her about Anna, her occupations, and what she had told

him to say to her.

"Yes, of course, she is very much to be pitied," said Kitty, when

he had finished. "Whom was your letter from?"

He told her, and believing in her calm tone, he went to change

his coat.

Coming back, he found Kitty in the same easy chair. When he went

up to her, she glanced at him and broke into sobs.