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Chapter 20.
“Here’s Dolly for you, princess, you were so anxious to see her,” said
Anna, coming out with Darya Alexandrovna onto the stone terrace
where Princess Varvara was sitting in the shade at an embroidery
frame, working at a cover for Count Alexey Kirillovitch’s easy chair.
“She says she doesn’t want anything before dinner, but please order
some lunch for her, and I’ll go and look for Alexey and bring them all
in.”
Princess Varvara gave Dolly a cordial and rather patronizing re-
ception, and began at once explaining to her that she was living with
Anna because she had always cared more for her than her sister
Katerina Pavlovna, the aunt that had brought Anna up, and that now,
when every onehad abandoned Anna, she thought it her duty to help
her in this most difficult period of transition.
“Her husband will give her a divorce, and then I shall go back to my
solitude; but now I can be of use, and I am doing my duty, however
difficult it may be for me—not like some other people. And how sweet
it is of you, how right of you to have come! They live like the best of
married couples; it’s for God to judge them, not for us. And didn’t
Biryuzovsky and Madame Avenieva...and Sam Nikandrov, and
Vassiliev and Madame Mamonova, and Liza Neptunova... Did no
one say anything about them? And it has ended by their being re-
ceived by everyone. And then, c’est un interieur si joli, si comme il faut.
Tout-a-fait a l’anglaise. On se reunit le matin au breakfast, et puis on
se separe. Everyone does as he pleases till dinnertime. Dinner at
seven o’clock. Stiva did very rightly to send you. He needs their
support. You know that through his mother and brother he can do
anything. And then they do so much good. He didn’t tell you about his
hospital? Ce sera admirable—everything from Paris.”
Their conversation was interrupted by Anna, who had found the
men of the party in the billiard room, and returned with them to the
terrace. There was still a long time before the dinner-hour, it was
exquisite weather, and so several different methods of spending the
next two hours were proposed. There were very many methods of
passing the time at Vozdvizhenskoe, and these were all unlike those in
use at Pokrovskoe.
“Une partie de lawn-tennis,” Veslovsky proposed, with his hand-
some smile. “We’ll be partners again, Anna Arkadyevna.”
“No, it’s too hot; better stroll about the garden and have a row in
the boat, show Darya Alexandrovna the river banks.” Vronsky pro-
posed.
“I agree to anything,” said Sviazhsky.
“I imagine that what Dolly would like best would be a stroll—
wouldn’t you? And then the boat, perhaps,” said Anna.
So it was decided. Veslovsky and Tushkevitch went off to the
bathing place, promising to get the boat ready and to wait there for
them.
They walked along the path in two couples, Anna with Sviazhsky,
and Dolly with Vronsky. Dolly was a little embarrassed and anxious in
the new surroundings in which she found herself. Abstractly, theoreti-
cally, she did not merely justify, she positively approved of Anna’s