第165章

第165章sittinginhisoldschoolroomonthesofawithlittlecushionsonthearms,andlookingintonatasha’swildlyeagereyes,rostovwascarriedbackintothatworldofhomeandchildhoodwhichhadnomeaningforanyoneelsebutgavehimsomeofthegreatestpleasuresinhislife.andburningone’sarmwitharulerasaproofoflovedidnotstrikehimaspointless;heunderstoodit,andwasnotsurprisedatit.

“well,isthatall？”heasked.

“well,wearesuchfriends,suchgreatfriends！that’snonsense—theruler;butwearefriendsforever.ifsheoncelovesanyone,it’sforever;idon’tunderstandthat,iforgetsoquickly.”

“well,whatthen？”

“yes,soshelovesmeandyou.”natashasuddenlyflushed.“well,yourememberbeforeyouwentaway…shesaysyouaretoforgetitall…shesaid,ishallalwayslovehim,butlethimbefree.thatreallyissplendid,noble！yes,yes;verynoble？yes？”natashaaskedwithsuchseriousnessandemotionthatitwasclearthatwhatshewassayingnowshehadtalkedofbeforewithtears.rostovthoughtalittle.

“inevertakebackmyword,”hesaid.“andbesides,sonya’ssocharmingthatwhowouldbesuchafoolastorenouncehisownhappiness？”

“no,no,”criednatasha.“sheandihavetalkedaboutthatalready.weknewthatyou’dsaythat.butthatwon’tdo,because,don’tyousee,ifyousaythat—ifyouconsideryourselfboundbyyourword,thenitmakesitasthoughshehadsaidthatonpurpose.itmakesitasthoughyouwere,afterall,obligedtomarryher,anditmakesitallwrong.”

rostovsawthatithadallbeenwellthoughtoverbythem.onthepreviousday,sonyahadstruckhimbyherbeauty;intheglimpsehehadcaughtofherto-day,sheseemedevenprettier.shewasacharminggirlofsixteen,obviouslypassionatelyinlovewithhim（ofthathecouldnotdoubtforaninstant）.“whyshouldhenotlovehernow,evenifhedidnotmarryher,”musedrostov,“but…justnowhehadsomanyotherjoysandinterests！”

“yes,that’saverygoodconclusionontheirpart,”hethought;“imustremainfree.”

“well,that’sallright,then,”hesaid;“we’lltalkaboutitlateron.ah,howgladiamtobebackwithyou！”headded.“come,tellme,you’venotbeenfalsetoboris？”

“that’snonsense！”criednatasha,laughing.“ineverthinkofhimnorofanyoneelse,anddon’twantto.”

“oh,youdon’t,don’tyou！thenwhatdoyouwant？”

“i？”natashaqueried,andherfacebeamedwithahappysmile.“haveyouseenduport？”

“no.”

“notseenduport,thecelebrateddancer？oh,wellthen,youwon’tunderstand.i—that’swhatiam.”curvingherarms,natashaheldoutherskirt,asdancersdo,ranbackafewsteps,whirledround,executedapirouette,bringingherlittlefeettogetherandstandingontheverytipsofhertoes,movedafewstepsforward.

“youseehowistand？there,likethis,”shekeptsaying;butshecouldnotkeeponhertoes.“sothat’swhati’mgoingtobe！i’mnevergoingtobemarriedtoanyone;i’mgoingtobeadancer.only,don’ttellanybody.”

rostovlaughedsoloudlyandmerrilythatdenisovinhisroomfeltenvious,andnatashacouldnothelplaughingwithhim.

“no,isn’titallright？”shekeptsaying.

“oh,quite.soyoudon’twanttomarryborisnow？”

natashagothot.

“idon’twanttomarryanyone.i’lltellhimsomyselfwheniseehim.”

“oh,willyou？”saidrostov.

“butthat’sallnonsense,”natashaprattledon.“and,isay,isdenisovnice？”sheasked.

“yes,he’snice.”

“well,good-bye,goanddress.isheadreadfulperson—denisov？”

“how,dreadful？”askednikolay.“no,vaska’sjolly.”

“youcallhimvaska？…that’sfunny.well,isheverynice？”

“verynice.”

“makehasteandcometotea,then.weareallgoingtohaveittogether.”

andnatasharoseontohertoesandsteppedoutoftheroom,asdancersdo,butsmilingasonlyhappygirlsoffifteencansmile.rostovreddenedonmeetingsonyainthedrawing-room.hedidnotknowhowtobehavewithher.yesterdaytheyhadkissedinthefirstmomentofjoyatmeeting,butto-daytheyfeltthatoutofthequestion.hefeltthateveryone,hismotherandhissisters,werelookinginquiringlyathim,andwonderinghowhewouldbehavewithher.hekissedherhand,andcalledheryouandsonya.buttheireyeswhentheymetspokemorefondlyandkissedtenderly.hereyesaskedhisforgivenessforhavingdared,bynatasha’smediation,toremindhimofhispromise,andthankedhimforhislove.hiseyesthankedherforofferinghimhisfreedom,andtoldherthatwhetherso,orotherwise,heshouldneverceasetoloveher,becauseitwasimpossiblenottoloveher.

“howqueeritis,though,”saidvera,selectingamomentofgeneralsilence,“thatsonyaandnikolenkameetnowandspeaklikestrangers.”

无一错一首一发一内一容一在一6一9一书一吧一看！

vera’sobservationwastrue,aswereallherobservations;butlikemostofherobservationsitmadeeveryoneuncomfortable—notsonya,nikolay,andnatashaonlycrimsoned;thecountess,too,whowasafraidofherson’sloveforsonyaasapossibleobstacletohismakingabrilliantmarriage,blushedlikeagirl.

torostov’ssurprise,denisovinhisnewuniform,pomadedandperfumed,wasquiteasdashingafigureinadrawing-roomasonthefieldofbattle,andwaspolitetotheladiesandgentlemenasrostovhadneverexpectedtoseehim.