Page 1228 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

Chapter 6

During the time of the children’s tea the grown-up
people sat in the balcony and talked as though nothing had
happened, though they all, especially Sergey Ivanovitch
and Varenka, were very well aware that there had
happened an event which, though negative, was of very
great importance. They both had the same feeling, rather
like that of a schoolboy after an examination, which has
left him in the same class or shut him out of the school
forever. Everyone present, feeling too that something had
happened, talked eagerly about extraneous subjects. Levin
and Kitty were particularly happy and conscious of their
love that evening. And their happiness in their love
seemed to imply a disagreeable slur on those who would
have liked to feel the same and could not—and they felt a
prick of conscience.
‘Mark my words, Alexander will not come,’ said the
old princess.
That evening they were expecting Stepan Arkadyevitch
to come down by train, and the old prince had written
that possibly he might come too.

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