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

Advertisement..

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.




Most Popular