Anna Karenina - Part 1 - Page 100/119

"Every heart has its own _skeletons_, as the English say."

"You have no sort of _skeleton_, have you? Everything is so clear

in you."

"I have!" said Anna suddenly, and, unexpectedly after her tears,

a sly, ironical smile curved her lips.

"Come, he's amusing, anyway, your _skeleton_, and not depressing,"

said Dolly, smiling.

"No, he's depressing. Do you know why I'm going today instead of

tomorrow? It's a confession that weighs on me; I want to make it

to you," said Anna, letting herself drop definitely into an

armchair, and looking straight into Dolly's face.

And to her surprise Dolly saw that Anna was blushing up to her

ears, up to the curly black ringlets on her neck.

"Yes," Anna went on. "Do you know why Kitty didn't come to

dinner? She's jealous of me. I have spoiled...I've been the

cause of that ball being a torture to her instead of a pleasure.

But truly, truly, it's not my fault, or only my fault a little

bit," she said, daintily drawling the words "a little bit."

"Oh, how like Stiva you said that!" said Dolly, laughing.

Anna was hurt.

"Oh no, oh no! I'm not Stiva," she said, knitting her brows.

"That's why I'm telling you, just because I could never let

myself doubt myself for an instant," said Anna.

But at the very moment she was uttering the words, she felt that

they were not true. She was not merely doubting herself, she

felt emotion at the thought of Vronsky, and was going away sooner

than she had meant, simply to avoid meeting him.

"Yes, Stiva told me you danced the mazurka with him, and that

he..."

"You can't imagine how absurdly it all came about. I only meant

to be matchmaking, and all at once it turned out quite

differently. Possibly against my own will..."

She crimsoned and stopped.

"Oh, they feel it directly?" said Dolly.

"But I should be in despair if there were anything serious in it

on his side," Anna interrupted her. "And I am certain it will

all be forgotten, and Kitty will leave off hating me."

"All the same, Anna, to tell you the truth, I'm not very anxious

for this marriage for Kitty. And it's better it should come to

nothing, if he, Vronsky, is capable of falling in love with you

in a single day."

"Oh, heavens, that would be too silly!" said Anna, and again a

deep flush of pleasure came out on her face, when she heard the

idea, that absorbed her, put into words. "And so here I am going

away, having made an enemy of Kitty, whom I liked so much! Ah,

how sweet she is! But you'll make it right, Dolly? Eh?"