Anna Karenina - Part 7

Stepan Arkadyevitch felt exactly the difference that Pyotr

Oblonsky described. In Moscow he degenerated so much that if he

had had to be there for long together, he might in good earnest

have come to considering his salvation; in Petersburg he felt

himself a man of the world again.

Between Princess Betsy Tverskaya and Stepan Arkadyevitch there

had long existed rather curious relations. Stepan Arkadyevitch

always flirted with her in jest, and used to say to her, also in

jest, the most unseemly things, knowing that nothing delighted

her so much. The day after his conversation with Karenin, Stepan

Arkadyevitch went to see her, and felt so youthful that in this

jesting flirtation and nonsense he recklessly went so far that he

did not know how to extricate himself, as unluckily he was so far

from being attracted by her that he thought her positively

disagreeable. What made it hard to change the conversation was

the fact that he was very attractive to her. So that he was

considerably relieved at the arrival of Princess Myakaya, which

cut short their _tête-à-tête_.

"Ah, so you're here!" said she when she saw him. "Well, and what

news of your poor sister? You needn't look at me like that," she

added. "Ever since they've all turned against her, all those

who're a thousand times worse than she, I've thought she did a

very fine thing. I can't forgive Vronsky for not letting me know

when she was in Petersburg. I'd have gone to see her and gone

about with her everywhere. Please give her my love. Come, tell

me about her."

"Yes, her position is very difficult; she..." began Stepan

Arkadyevitch, in the simplicity of his heart accepting as

sterling coin Princess Myakaya's words "tell me about her."

Princess Myakaya interrupted him immediately, as she always did,

and began talking herself.

"She's done what they all do, except me--only they hide it. But

she wouldn't be deceitful, and she did a fine thing. And she did

better still in throwing up that crazy brother-in-law of yours.

You must excuse me. Everybody used to say he was so clever, so

very clever; I was the only one that said he was a fool. Now

that he's so thick with Lidia Ivanovna and Landau, they all say

he's crazy, and I should prefer not to agree with everybody, but

this time I can't help it."

"Oh, do please explain," said Stepan Arkadyevitch; "what does it

mean? Yesterday I was seeing him on my sister's behalf, and I

asked him to give me a final answer. He gave me no answer, and

said he would think it over. But this morning, instead of an

answer, I received an invitation from Countess Lidia Ivanovna

for this evening."