Page 166 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

glancing down at once recognized Vronsky, and a strange
feeling of pleasure and at the same time of dread of
something stirred in her heart. He was standing still, not
taking off his coat, pulling something out of his pocket. At

the instant when she was just facing the stairs, he raised his
eyes, caught sight of her, and into the expression of his
face there passed a shade of embarrassment and dismay.
With a slight inclination of her head she passed, hearing
behind her Stepan Arkadyevitch’s loud voice calling him
to come up, and the quiet, soft, and composed voice of
Vronsky refusing.
When Anna returned with the album, he was already
gone, and Stepan Arkadyevitch was telling them that he
had called to inquire about the dinner they were giving
next day to a celebrity who had just arrived. ‘And nothing
would induce him to come up. What a queer fellow he
is!’ added Stepan Arkadyevitch.
Kitty blushed. She thought that she was the only person
who knew why he had come, and why he would not
come up. ‘He has been at home,’ she thought, ‘and didn’t
find me, and thought I should be here, but he did not
come up because he thought it late, and Anna’s here.’
All of them looked at each other, saying nothing, and
began to look at Anna’s album.

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