Alexey Alexandrovitch's permanent summer villa was in Peterhof,

and the Countess Lidia Ivanovna used as a rule to spend the

summer there, close to Anna, and constantly seeing her. That

year Countess Lidia Ivanovna declined to settle in Peterhof, was

not once at Anna Arkadyevna's, and in conversation with Alexey

Alexandrovitch hinted at the unsuitability of Anna's close

intimacy with Betsy and Vronsky. Alexey Alexandrovitch sternly

cut her short, roundly declaring his wife to be above suspicion,

and from that time began to avoid Countess Lidia Ivanovna. He

did not want to see, and did not see, that many people in society

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cast dubious glances on his wife; he did not want to understand,

and did not understand, why his wife had so particularly insisted

on staying at Tsarskoe, where Betsy was staying, and not far from

the camp of Vronsky's regiment. He did not allow himself to

think about it, and he did not think about it; but all the same

though he never admitted it to himself, and had no proofs, not

even suspicious evidence, in the bottom of his heart he knew

beyond all doubt that he was a deceived husband, and he was

profoundly miserable about it.

How often during those eight years of happy life with his wife

Alexey Alexandrovitch had looked at other men's faithless wives

and other deceived husbands and asked himself: "How can people

descend to that? how is it they don't put an end to such a

hideous position?" But now, when the misfortune had come upon

himself, he was so far from thinking of putting an end to the

position that he would not recognize it at all, would not

recognize it just because it was too awful, too unnatural.

Since his return from abroad Alexey Alexandrovitch had twice been

at their country villa. Once he dined there, another time he

spent the evening there with a party of friends, but he had not

once stayed the night there, as it had been his habit to do in

previous years.

The day of the races had been a very busy day for Alexey

Alexandrovitch; but when mentally sketching out the day in the

morning, he made up his mind to go to their country house to see

his wife immediately after dinner, and from there to the races,

which all the Court were to witness, and at which he was bound to

be present. He was going to see his wife, because he had

determined to see her once a week to keep up appearances. And

besides, on that day, as it was the fifteenth, he had to give his

wife some money for her expenses, according to their usual

arrangement.




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