第328章

第328章“look！ourannamihalovnainsuchacap！”

“thekaragins，julie，andboriswiththem.onecanseeatoncetheyareengaged.”

“drubetskoyhasmadehisoffer！tobesure，iheardsoto-day，”saidshinshin，comingintotherostovs’box.

natashalookedinthedirectionherfatherwaslookinginandsawjuliewithdiamondsonherthick，redneck（natashaknewitwaspowdered），sittingwithablissfulfacebesidehermother.

behindthemcouldbeseenthehandsome，well-brushedheadofboris，withasmileinclininghiseartowardsjulie’smouth.helookedfromunderhisbrowsattherostovs，andsaidsomething，smiling，tohisbetrothed.

“theyaretalkingaboutus，aboutmeandhimself！”thoughtnatasha.“andheis，mostlikely，soothinghisfiancée’sjealousyofme；theyneedn’tworrythemselves！ifonlytheyknewhowlittletheymattertome，anyoneofthem.”

behindtheengagedcouplesatannamihalovnainagreencap，withafacehappy，inhonourofthefestiveoccasion，anddevoutlyresignedtothewillofgod.theirboxwasfullofthatatmosphereofanengagedcouple—whichnatashaknewsowellandlikedsomuch.sheturnedaway；andsuddenlyallthathadbeenhumiliatinginhermorningvisitcamebacktohermind.

“whatrighthashenottowanttoreceivemeintohisfamily？ah，betternotthinkaboutit，notthinktillhecomesback！”shesaidtoherself，andbegantolookaboutatthefaces，knownandunknown，inthestalls.

inthefrontofthestalls，intheverycentre，leaningbackagainsttherailstooddolohov，inapersiandress，withhishugeshockofcurlyhaircombedupwards.hestoodinthemostconspicuousplaceinthetheatre，wellawarethathewasattractingtheattentionofthewholeaudience，andasmuchathiseaseasthoughhehadbeenaloneinhisroom.themostbrilliantyoungmeninmoscowwereallthrongingabouthim，andhewasobviouslytheleadingfigureamongthem.

countilyaandreitch，laughing，nudgedtheblushingsonya，pointingoutherformeradmirer.

“didyourecognisehim？”heasked.“andwherehashedroppedfrom？”saidhe，turningtoshinshin.“ithoughthehaddisappearedsomewhere？”

“hediddisappear，”answeredshinshin.“hewasinthecaucasus，andheranawayfromthere，andtheysayhehasbeenactingasministertosomereigningprinceinpersia，andtherekilledtheshah’sbrother.well，allthemoscowladiesarewildabouthim！‘dolohovthepersian，’that’swhatdoesit！nowadaysthere’snothingcanbedonewithoutdolohov；theydohomagetohim，inviteyoutomeethim，asifhewereasturgeon，”saidshinshin.“dolohovandanatolekuraginhavetakenalltheladies’heartsbystorm.”

atall，handsomewomanwithamassofhairandverynaked，plump，whitearmsandshoulders，andadoublerowofbigpearlsroundherthroat，walkedintothenextbox，andwasalongwhilesettlingintoherplaceandrustlingherthicksilkgown.

natashaunconsciouslyexaminedthatneckandtheshoulders，thepearls，thecoiffureofthislady，andadmiredthebeautyoftheshouldersandthepearls.whilenatashawasscrutinisingherasecondtime，theladylookedround，andmeetingtheeyesofcountilyaandreitch，shenoddedandsmiledtohim.itwasthecountessbezuhov，pierre’swife.thecount，whokneweveryoneinsociety，bentoverandenteredintoconversationwithher.

“haveyoubeenherelong？”hebegan.“i’mcoming；i’mcomingtokissyourhand.ihavecometotownonbusinessandbroughtmygirlswithme.theysaysemyonovna’sactingissuperb，”thecountwenton.“countpyotrkirillovitchneverforgotus.ishehere？”

“yes，hemeanttocome，”saidellen，lookingintentlyatnatasha.

countilyaandreitchsatdownagaininhisplace.

“handsome，isn’tshe？”hewhisperedtonatasha.

“exquisite！”saidnatasha.“onemightwellfallinlovewithher！”

atthatmomenttheyheardthelastchordsoftheoverture，andthetappingoftheconductor’sstick.latecomershurriedtotheirseatsinthestalls，andthecurtainrose.

assoonasthecurtainrose，ahushfellontheboxesandstalls，andallthemen，oldandyoung，intheirfrockcoatsoruniforms，allthewomenwithpreciousstonesontheirbarefleshconcentratedalltheirattentionwitheagercuriosityonthestage.natashatoobegantolookatit.