Page 901 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

to see them because of it. Has Seryozha had his dinner? I
know everyone will forget him. He would not forget.
Seryozha must be moved into the corner room, and
Mariette must be asked to sleep with him.’

All of a sudden she shrank back, was silent; and in
terror, as though expecting a blow, as though to defend
herself, she raised her hands to her face. She had seen her
husband.
‘No, no!’ she began. ‘I am not afraid of him; I am afraid
of death. Alexey, come here. I am in a hurry, because I’ve
no time, I’ve not long left to live; the fever will begin
directly and I shall understand nothing more. Now I
understand, I understand it all, I see it all!’
Alexey Alexandrovitch’s wrinkled face wore an
expression of agony; he took her by the hand and tried to
say something, but he could not utter it; his lower lip
quivered, but he still went on struggling with his emotion,
and only now and then glanced at her. And each time he
glanced at her, he saw her eyes gazing at him with such
passionate and triumphant tenderness as he had never seen
in them.
‘Wait a minute, you don’t know...stay a little, stay!...’
She stopped, as though collecting her ideas. ‘Yes,’ she
began; ‘yes, yes, yes. This is what I wanted to say. Don’t

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