"Oh, please, introduce me to Karenin," he brought out with an
effort, and with a desperately determined step he walked into the
drawing room and beheld her.
She was not the same as she used to be, nor was she as she had
been in the carriage; she was quite different.
She was scared, shy, shame-faced, and still more charming from
it. She saw him the very instant he walked into the room. She
had been expecting him. She was delighted, and so confused at
her own delight that there was a moment, the moment when he went
up to her sister and glanced again at her, when she, and he, and
Dolly, who saw it all, thought she would break down and would
begin to cry. She crimsoned, turned white, crimsoned again, and
grew faint, waiting with quivering lips for him to come to her.
He went up to her, bowed, and held out his hand without speaking.
Except for the slight quiver of her lips and the moisture in her
eyes that made them brighter, her smile was almost calm as she
said: "How long it is since we've seen each other!" and with desperate
determination she pressed his hand with her cold hand.
"You've not seen me, but I've seen you," said Levin, with a
radiant smile of happiness. "I saw you when you were driving
from the railway station to Ergushovo."
"When?" she asked, wondering.
"You were driving to Ergushovo," said Levin, feeling as if he
would sob with the rapture that was flooding his heart. "And how
dared I associate a thought of anything not innocent with this
touching creature? And, yes, I do believe it's true what Darya
Alexandrovna told me," he thought.
Stepan Arkadyevitch took him by the arm and led him away to
Karenin.
"Let me introduce you." He mentioned their names.
"Very glad to meet you again," said Alexey Alexandrovitch coldly,
shaking hands with Levin.
"You are acquainted?" Stepan Arkadyevitch asked in surprise.
"We spent three hours together in the train," said Levin smiling,
"but got out, just as in a masquerade, quite mystified--at least
I was."
"Nonsense! Come along, please," said Stepan Arkadyevitch,
pointing in the direction of the dining room.
The men went into the dining-room and went up to a table, laid
with six sorts of spirits and as many kinds of cheese, some with
little silver spades and some without, caviar, herrings,
preserves of various kinds, and plates with slices of French
bread.