Page 226 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

light of the lamp post. She looked round, and the same
instant recognized Vronsky’s face. Putting his hand to the
peak of his cap, he bowed to her and asked, Was there
anything she wanted? Could he be of any service to her?

She gazed rather a long while at him without answering,
and, in spite of the shadow in which he was standing, she
saw, or fancied she saw, both the expression of his face and
his eyes. It was again that expression of reverential ecstasy
which had so worked upon her the day before. More than
once she had told herself during the past few days, and
again only a few moments before, that Vronsky was for
her only one of the hundreds of young men, forever
exactly the same, that are met everywhere, that she would
never allow herself to bestow a thought upon him. But
now at the first instant of meeting him, she was seized by a
feeling of joyful pride. She had no need to ask why he had
come. she knew as certainly as if he had told her that he
was here to be where she was.
‘I didn’t know you were going. What are you coming
for?’ she said, letting fall the hand with which she had
grasped the door post. And irrepressible delight and
eagerness shone in her face.

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