Chapter 21 Chapter 21

Pierre was one of the most respected guests, and he was supposed to sit at the same Boston card table with Ilya Andreitch, the general, and the colonel.Pierre sat opposite Natasha at the Boston card table, and was astonished at the terrible change in her since the ball had been given.Natasha was taciturn, and if she did not assume an air of meekness and indifference to everything, instead of being so pretty at the ball, she would be ugly. "How is she?" Pierre thought, glancing at her.She was sitting beside her sister at the tea table, not looking at him, and answering something reluctantly to Boris, who was sitting next to her.Pierre, having played a card of the same suit and put away the five taken cards, pleased his opponent when he heard the greetings and the sound of steps entering the room, and he glanced at her again.

"What's the matter with her?" he said to himself with increasing wonder. Prince Andrew was standing before her with a solicitous and tender expression, saying something to her.She looked up at him, flushed, evidently trying to hold back her rapid breathing.The fire in her heart, which had been extinguished before, blazed brightly again.She has changed completely.She went from being ugly again to being as pretty as she was at the ball. Prince Andrei went up to Pierre, and Pierre noticed the renewed youthful expression on his friend's face. During the card game Pierre changed his seat several times in succession, now with his back to Natasha, now with his face to her, and during the six rounds of the game he kept observing her and himself. friend.

"Something of great importance is going on between them," thought Pierre, so agitated by joy and sorrow that he almost forgot to play cards. After six rounds the general stood up and said it was unbearable to play like this.Pierre thus had a moment of leisure.Natasha was talking to Sonia and Boris on the sidelines.Vera was talking to Prince Andrew with a reserved smile.Pierre went up to his friend, asked him if he was talking about secrets, and sat down near them.Vera noticed that Prince Andrey was paying attention to Natasha, and she thought that a subtle hint of love was indispensable at a party, a real party, when Prince Andrey was there alone, She took a moment to talk to him about love in general, and about her sister.She felt that she must exercise her diplomacy with such a clever (and she thought Prince Andrew was a clever) guest.

When Pierre came up to them, he noticed that Vera was talking complacently, and Prince Andrew (which was a rare occurrence for him) looked embarrassed and disturbed. "What do you think?" said Vera with a reserved smile. "Prince, you are perceptive and understand people's characters at once. What do you think of Natasha? Will her attachment be firm?" ?Can she, like other women (Vera means herself), love someone and remain faithful to him forever? I think this is true love. What do you think, Duke?" "Your sister, I know so little," replied Prince Andrew with a sardonic smile, which he tried to hide his embarrassment, "in order to answer such a delicate question, I gradually paid attention to it. I realize that the less agreeable a woman is, the more faithful she will be," he added, looking at Pierre, who was now approaching them.

"Yes, it is true, duke, in our time," Vera went on (as narrow-sighted people are always fond of referring to our time, thinking that they have discovered and judged its peculiarities, People's nature changes with the times), "In our time, the girl enjoys too much freedom, so that leplaisird'etrecourtisee① often drowns her true feelings in her heart. EtNathalie, ilfautl'avouer, yesttressensible②, the topic returns to Natasha , causing Prince Andrew to frown sullenly; he tried to get up, but Vera continued with a more subtle smile. "I thought there was no one more courtisee than her," said Vera, "but until recently she had never seriously liked anyone. Count. You know," she said, turning to Pierre, " Even our lovely cousin Boris, en Atrenous ④ sank deep in danslepays dutendre..." ⑤ She was alluding to the popular love picture at the time.

-------- ①French: the joy of being favored by others. ② French: It should be admitted that Natalie (Natasha's French name) is very sensitive to this matter. ③ French: the object of pursuit. ④French: Talk among us, not with outsiders. ⑤French: the land of different surnames. Prince Andrew looked gloomy and remained silent. "Aren't you on good terms with Boris?" Vera said to him. "Yeah, I know he..." "He must have told you about his childhood love for Natasha?" "There was a childhood love, didn't you?" Prince Andrey asked suddenly and unexpectedly, blushing.

"Yes. Voussavezentreconsinetconsinecetteintimitemenequelquefoisal'amour: leconAsinageestundangereuxvoisinage.N'estcepas?"① -------- ①French: You know, the intimacy between cousins ​​often produces love.Old Cousin, Old Cousin, I'm worried.isn't it? "Ah, no doubt," said Prince Andrew, suddenly animated with unnatural vigor, and began to joke with Pierre that he should be careful with his Moscow cousins ​​of fifty, In the middle of a witty conversation, he got up, took Pierre by the arm, and led him aside. "What's the matter?" said Pierre, observing with astonishment the excited expression of his friend, and noticing the look he had given Natasha as he stood.

"I should, I should talk to you," said Prince Andrei, "you know our women's gloves (he was talking about the gloves that the Freemasons give to newly elected brothers to give to their beloved women in person) ). I... but me, I will talk to you later..." Prince Andrew, with a strange gleam in his eyes, hurriedly moved, went up to Natasha and stood beside her. sit down.Pierre saw Prince Andrei ask her something, and she blushed and answered him. But at this moment, Berg approached Pierre and firmly begged him to take part in the debate between the general and the colonel on the Spanish question.

Berg was satisfied and happy.He always had a happy smile on his face.The party was a good one, exactly like the others he had seen.Everything at the party was alike.The high-pitched talk of the ladies, the cards, the raised generals at cards, the tea and the biscuits were all alike, but there was one thing missing, and that was what he had seen so often at other parties and which he wanted to emulate.What is lacking among men is loud talk, and there is also a lack of arguments about important and advanced issues.The conversation was led by the general, and Berg absorbed Pierre into the conversation.