Emma Watson Pussy
Books:
Anna Karenina
War And Peace
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in her love that she enjoyed now while
gaily building her nest for the future.
Chapter 16
When Levin went upstairs, his wife was sitting near the new
silver samovar behind the new tea service, and, having settled
old Agafea Mihalovna at a little table with a full cup of tea,
was reading a letter from Dolly, with whom they were in continual
and frequent correspondence.
"You see, your good ladys settled me here, told me to sit a bit
with her," said Agafea Mihalovna, smiling affectionately at
Kitty.
In these words of Agafea Mihalovna, Levin read the final act of
the drama which had been enacted of late between her and Kitty.
He saw that, in spite of Agafea Mihalovnas feelings being hurt
by a new mistress taking the reins of government out of her
hands, Kitty had yet conquered her and made her love her.
"Here, I opened your letter too," said Kitty, handing him an
illiterate letter. "Its from that woman, I think, your
brothers..." she said. "I did not read it through. This is
from my people and from Dolly. Fancy! Dolly took Tanya and
Grisha to a childrens ball at the Sarmatskys: Tanya was a
French marquise."
But Levin did not hear her. Flushing, he took the letter from
Marya Nikolaevna, his brothers former mistress, and began to
read it. This was the second letter he had received from Marya
Nikolaevna. In the first letter, Marya Nikolaevna wrote that his
brother had sent her away for no fault of hers, and, with
touching simplicity, added that though she was in want again, she
asked for nothing, and wished for nothing, but was only tormented
by the thought that Nikolay Dmitrievitch would come to grief
without her, owing to the weak state of his health, and begged
his brother to look after him. Now she wrote quite differently.
She had found Nikolay Dmitrievitch, had again made it up with him
in Moscow, and had moved with him to a provincial town, where he
had received a post in the government service. But that he had
quarreled with the head official, and was on his way back to
Moscow, only he had been taken so ill on the road that it was
doubtful if he would ever leave his bed again, she wrote. "Its
always of you he has talked, and, besides, he has no more money
left."
"Read this; Dolly writes about you," Kitty was beginning, with a
smile; but she stopped suddenly, noticing the changed expression
on her husbands face.
"What is it? Whats the matter?"
"She writes to me that Nikolay, my brother, is at deaths door.
I shall go to him."
Kittys face changed at once. Thoughts of Tanya as a marquise,
of Dolly, all had vanished.
"When are you going?" she said.
"Tomorrow."
"And I will go with you, can I?" she said.
"Kitty! What are you thinking of?" he said reproachfully.
"How do you mean?" offended that he should seem to take her
suggestion unwillingly and with vexation. "Why shouldnt I go?
I shant be in your way. I..."
"Im going because my brother is dying," said Levin. "Why should
you..."
"Why? For the same reason as you."
"And, at a moment of such gravity for me, she only thinks of her
being dull by herself," thought Levin. And this lack of candor
in a matter of such gravity infuriated him.
"Its out of the question," he said sternly.
Agafea Mihalovna, seeing that it was coming to a quarrel, gently
put down her cup and withdrew. Kitty did not even notice her.
The tone in which her husband had said the last words wounded
her, especially because he evidently did not believe what she had
said.
"I tell you, that if you go, I shall come with you; I shall
certainly come," she said hastily and wrathfully. "Why out of
the question? Why do you say its out of the question?"
"Because itll be going God knows where, by all sorts of roads
and to all sorts of hotels. You would be a hindrance to me,"
said Levin, trying to be cool.
"Not at all. I dont want anything. Where you can go, I
can...."
"Well, for one thing then, because this womans there whom you
cant meet."
"I dont know and dont care to know whos there and what. I
know that my husbands brother is dying and my husband is going
to him, and I go with my husband too...."
"Kitty! Dont
Anna Karenina page 279 Anna Karenina page 281
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