Page 1575 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

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 tete-
a-tete.
‘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

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