Book Six: 1808-10 - Chapter XXI

by Leo Tolstoy

　　Pierre, as one of the principal guests, had to sit down to bostonwith Count Rostov, the general, and the colonel. At the card tablehe happened to be directly facing Natasha, and was struck by a curiouschange that had come over her since the ball, She was silent, andnot only less pretty than at the ball, but only redeemed fromplainness by her look of gentle indifference to everything around.

　　"What's the matter with her?" thought Pierre, glancing at her. Shewas sitting by her sister at the tea table, and reluctantly, withoutlooking at him, made some reply to Boris who sat down beside her.After playing out a whole suit and to his partner's delight takingfive tricks, Pierre, hearing greetings and the steps of someone whohad entered the room while he was picking up his tricks, glanced againat Natasha.

　　"What has happened to her?" he asked himself with still greatersurprise.

　　Prince Andrew was standing before her, saying something to herwith a look of tender solicitude. She, having raised her head, waslooking up at him, flushed and evidently trying to master her rapidbreathing. And the bright glow of some inner fire that had beensuppressed was again alight in her. She was completely transformed andfrom a plain girl had again become what she had been at the ball.

　　Prince Andrew went up to Pierre, and the latter noticed a new andyouthful expression in his friend's face.

　　Pierre changed places several times during the game, sitting nowwith his back to Natasha and now facing her, but during the whole ofthe six rubbers he watched her and his friend.

　　"Something very important is happening between them," thoughtPierre, and a feeling that was both joyful and painful agitated himand made him neglect the game.

　　After six rubbers the general got up, saying that it was no useplaying like that, and Pierre was released. Natasha on one side wastalking with Sonya and Boris, and Vera with a subtle smile wassaying something to Prince Andrew. Pierre went up to his friend and,asking whether they were talking secrets, sat down beside them.Vera, having noticed Prince Andrew's attentions to Natasha, decidedthat at a party, a real evening party, subtle allusions to thetender passion were absolutely necessary and, seizing a moment whenPrince Andrew was alone, began a conversation with him aboutfeelings in general and about her sister. With so intellectual a guestas she considered Prince Andrew to be, she felt that she had to employher diplomatic tact.

　　When Pierre went up to them he noticed that Vera was being carriedaway by her self-satisfied talk, but that Prince Andrew seemedembarrassed, a thing that rarely happened with him.

　　"What do you think?" Vera was saying with an arch smile. "You are sodiscerning, Prince, and understand people's characters so well at aglance. What do you think of Natalie? Could she be constant in herattachments? Could she, like other women" (Vera meant herself),"love a man once for all and remain true to him forever? That iswhat I consider true love. What do you think, Prince?"

　　"I know your sister too little," replied Prince Andrew, with asarcastic smile under which he wished to hide his embarrassment, "tobe able to solve so delicate a question, and then I have noticedthat the less attractive a woman is the more constant she is likely tobe," he added, and looked up Pierre who was just approaching them.

　　"Yes, that is true, Prince. In our days," continued Vera- mentioning"our days" as people of limited intelligence are fond of doing,imagining that they have discovered and appraised the peculiarities of"our days" and that human characteristics change with the times- "inour days a girl has so much freedom that the pleasure of being courtedoften stifles real feeling in her. And it must be confessed thatNatalie is very susceptible." This return to the subject of Nataliecaused Prince Andrew to knit his brows with discomfort: he was aboutto rise, but Vera continued with a still more subtle smile:

　　"I think no one has been more courted than she," she went on, "buttill quite lately she never cared seriously for anyone. Now youknow, Count," she said to Pierre, "even our dear cousin Boris, who,between ourselves, was very far gone in the land of tenderness..."(alluding to a map of love much in vogue at that time).

　　Prince Andrew frowned and remained silent.

　　"You are friendly with Boris, aren't you?" asked Vera.

　　"Yes, I know him..."

　　"I expect he has told you of his childish love for Natasha?"

　　"Oh, there was childish love?" suddenly asked Prince Andrew,blushing unexpectedly.

　　"Yes, you know between cousins intimacy often leads to love. Lecousinage est un dangereux voisinage.* Don't you think so?"

　　*"Cousinhood is a dangerous neighborhood."

　　"Oh, undoubtedly!" said Prince Andrew, and with sudden and unnaturalliveliness he began chaffing Pierre about the need to be verycareful with his fifty-year-old Moscow cousins, and in the midst ofthese jesting remarks he rose, taking Pierre by the arm, and drewhim aside.

　　"Well?" asked Pierre, seeing his friend's strange animation withsurprise, and noticing the glance he turned on Natasha as he rose.

　　"I must... I must have a talk with you," said Prince Andrew. "Youknow that pair of women's gloves?" (He referred to the Masonicgloves given to a newly initiated Brother to present to the woman heloved.) "I... but no, I will talk to you later on," and with a strangelight in his eyes and restlessness in his movements, Prince Andrewapproached Natasha and sat down beside her. Pierre saw how PrinceAndrew asked her something and how she flushed as she replied.

　　But at that moment Berg came to Pierre and began insisting that heshould take part in an argument between the general and the colonel onthe affairs in Spain.

　　Berg was satisfied and happy. The smile of pleasure never left hisface. The party was very successful and quite like other parties hehad seen. Everything was similar: the ladies' subtle talk, thecards, the general raising his voice at the card table, and thesamovar and the tea cakes; only one thing was lacking that he hadalways seen at the evening parties he wished to imitate. They hadnot yet had a loud conversation among the men and a dispute aboutsomething important and clever. Now the general had begun such adiscussion and so Berg drew Pierre to it.