Anna Karenina - Part 7

"No, wait a minute." She held his hand. "Let's talk about it,

it worries me. I seem to spend nothing unnecessary, but money

seems to fly away simply. We don't manage well, somehow."

"Oh, it's all right," he said with a little cough, looking at her

from under his brows.

That cough she knew well. It was a sign of intense

dissatisfaction, not with her, but with himself. He certainly

was displeased not at so much money being spent, but at being

reminded of what he, knowing something was unsatisfactory, wanted

to forget.

"I have told Sokolov to sell the wheat, and to borrow an advance

on the mill. We shall have money enough in any case."

"Yes, but I'm afraid that altogether..."

"Oh, it's all right, all right," he repeated. "Well, good-bye,

darling."

"No, I'm really sorry sometimes that I listened to mamma. How

nice it would have been in the country! As it is, I'm worrying

you all, and we're wasting our money."

"Not at all, not at all. Not once since I've been married have

I said that things could have been better than they are...."

"Truly?" she said, looking into his eyes.

He had said it without thinking, simply to console her. But when

he glanced at her and saw those sweet truthful eyes fastened

questioningly on him, he repeated it with his whole heart. "I

was positively forgetting her," he thought. And he remembered

what was before them, so soon to come.

"Will it be soon? How do you feel?" he whispered, taking her two

hands.

"I have so often thought so, that now I don't think about it or

know anything about it."

"And you're not frightened?"

She smiled contemptuously.

"Not the least little bit," she said.

"Well, if anything happens, I shall be at Katavasov's."

"No, nothing will happen, and don't think about it. I'm going

for a walk on the boulevard with papa. We're going to see Dolly.

I shall expect you before dinner. Oh, yes! Do you know that

Dolly's position is becoming utterly impossible? She's in debt

all round; she hasn't a penny. We were talking yesterday with

mamma and Arseny" (this was her sister's husband Lvov), "and we

determined to send you with him to talk to Stiva. It's really

unbearable. One can't speak to papa about it.... But if you and

he..."

"Why, what can we do?" said Levin.