Betsy's home is not far from Anna's home, and she put on a lot of makeup when she went out.
She thought of Karenin's frown when she was fiddling with clothes in the bedroom in the morning, because the clothes piled up like a hill.
Anna knew that for a person like Karenin who is used to having a clear schedule and work and rest schedule, clean and tidy is the right thing to do. Dirty and sloppy are like keeping him in good order in front of a diligent squirrel. The whole hole of the pine cones is just as if they were all burst out with the most violent machine gun.
Faced with the scene of piles of clothes, Karenin must be like the squirrel whose pine cone was protruded by the machine gun at the moment. Because it happened so fast and was too shocked, he couldn't think of anything to evaluate this scene. language. Therefore, silence represents his mood.
"Don't frown, I'll fix it." Anna hugged a long skirt, then walked over on tiptoe and kissed Karenin's lips and said with a smile.
Karenin really couldn't understand why women have so many clothes, and they always feel that there is one thing missing in the closet.
Although he sometimes feels that his wife is different from many women, that she is more tolerant and optimistic, it seems that some things will never change.
The weather is always getting colder and colder, but obviously the noble ladies will always be "slower" than the poor for a season in their perception of temperature.
Anna wore an earth-colored velvet dress, the material was very soft and warm, and she was wrapped in a pure black cloak. She modified the shoulders a little, because she is now slimmer than before, and the fox fur is very beautiful, fluffy, like a layer of grease.
Her hair is neatly combed, and some of the fine hair that was originally curled has been smoothed out with osmanthus-scented hair oil. She also wears a small suede hat crookedly on it, which is simple but exquisite. .
She got out of the carriage, and Betsy's butler welcomed her in.
"Show me, you are always so beautiful, Anna." Betsy greeted her. She was wearing a bright dress with a narrow waist, but her face was very rosy.
She took Anna's hand and looked her up and down with affectionate eyes, showing no jealousy at all.
"How pretty, have you found a good tailor in Petersburg?" asked Betsy with bright eyes.
"I changed it a little bit myself. I found that I have lost weight recently, and it is too troublesome to throw clothes to tailors for modification. Sometimes they don't understand what I want." Anna said with a smile, with to fit into this environment.
"I didn't know you still had this skill." Betsy smiled, but she obviously didn't take it seriously, but she didn't hold on to the question any longer.
She opened a decorative fan made of ostrich feathers with her right hand, took Anna with the other hand, and led her into their tea banquet.
There are men and women, they have gathered together.
Anna looked at everyone calmly, trying to figure out everyone's identity.
Besides why Betsy was the chief representative of this circle, she arranged Anna next to her and introduced everyone present to her intimately.
The one with the sallow face and the bulging chest is the Duchess Mijaheki. Although she is not very good-looking, her words are very important.
There are also other noble wives, most of those men have some titles in their families, but they can't make it to the big scene. Relying on their pretty faces, these young men circled around this group of ladies, trying to gain some benefits.
"Is everyone here?" came a voice from across the living room. The voice was very young, somewhere between childhood and adolescence.
Anna looked up. A boy in a tight uniform came over, his curly brown hair looked very smooth, and his face was bright and bright, and behind him was a fat man, that was Anna's. cousin.
"You're here, Anna." Anna's cousin hugged the former with his chubby fingers, and then kissed her on the cheek as a greeting.
"It's all here now!" Anna's cousin said, laughing too.
"It's up to you now, my dear."
Betsy accepted her husband's kiss, she giggled and said something coquettishly.
"As if you did something, all right, you go do your thing. Stop telling me about those painted pottery, I'm not interested."
Anna's cousin is obsessed with collecting faience and prints. He holds the title of duke. Although he doesn't care about politics at all, he still does it to some extent.
"Come here, I have reserved a good place for you, Vronsky." Betsy beckoned the boy with a bright smile to come over.
When Betsy's eyes fell on her, Anna knew that the good position was next to her.
"Good day, Madame Karenin." Although Vronsky was only thirteen, he was quite pleasant-looking.
His double eyelids are extremely deep, and there is a pair of eyes with the same darker color hidden underneath, like some kind of glass ball, crisp and raw, with a very bright light.
He looked at Anna with the spirited eyes unique to young people, with undisguised admiration.
Anna smiled back at the other party, thinking: This era is really precocious, and this circle is really full of weirdness.
"Okay, our tea party will officially start now." Betsy said with a charming smile on her lips. A young man sat next to her, glanced somewhere, and then He said something in her ear, which caused a burst of laughter.
Betsy glanced at the young lady sitting opposite her, Vronsky's sister and Betsy's cousin, who had been married for less than a year.
There is a charming and deep meaning in her eyes.
"Honey, how was the honeymoon?" Duchess Mijaheki asked with concern.
She liked Anna as soon as she saw her, not only her beautiful appearance, but also her character.
Duchess Mijaheki doesn't hate beautiful women, she even appreciates them very much, but she hates that kind of strong women. If there was such a person in this circle, she might not like to come here.
"How can you ask this question?" said an ambassador's wife, she had a pair of extremely fine eyebrows, eyelashes as black as a crow's wing, she was tall and sat upright, and her red lips curled up in a pity radian.
"Honeymoon and business trip are mixed together, it must be somewhat regrettable." The ambassador's wife asked pretending to be concerned, but she couldn't hide her jealousy well.
The ambassador's wife originally thought that she would be the most outstanding one. She has a noble status and outstanding appearance, but she has a fatal flaw, that is, she is too small.
She was upset because Anna's appearance was better than her, so that now it could be said that anyone who has no grace wanted to make the former look ugly.
The ambassador's wife had heard her husband talk about that Karenin, although her husband thought highly of that gentleman, so what? After all, he was a man who didn't understand romance at all. Marrying a man who could even bring his work with him on the wedding trip would not make people feel happy at all.
Anna didn't show any embarrassment. On the contrary, she pulled a smile at the corner of her mouth: "I don't think I have any regrets."
Almost everyone stopped talking, and the ambassador's wife looked a little stiff.
Anna pursed her lips, raised a slight arc, and said, "My husband is very responsible for his work. As the wife of an official, I am not good at government affairs."
She blinked her eyes, her tone became lively, and she looked like a burst of light, firmly and brightly maintaining her husband's reputation.
"To be honest, I don't know those negotiating skills, and I can't do that kind of conscientiousness, but at least I can accompany him when he is doing his duty for Russia. Thinking about it this way, I am a person who knows nothing. It’s also a little bit of light, and it can be regarded as a contribution to our country.”
"That's very well said, my dear." Princess Mijahki clapped her hands, and some people followed suit, among them Vronsky looked at Anna with a look of surprise and admiration.
The applause fell on the face of the ambassador's wife like a slap in the face, and a faint blush appeared on her somewhat pale face.
"My husband says that Nilsson will come to play with us next week. Everyone says she sings very well, but I haven't heard her voice yet. I've heard that Frau Heydrich is very good at music. So I want to hear your opinion, so that I can decide whether to go and observe it." Anna said in a flattering tone.
The ambassador's wife was a little surprised. Seeing Anna's sincere expression, she suddenly felt a little ashamed.
Although she is not very generous, it just shows that she is not the kind of woman who is very scheming, so at this moment, out of shame, she decided to give the most detailed opinion, so as to make up for what she said out of jealousy. words.
Everyone listened to the ambassador's wife's evaluation of the Swedish opera queen, and so did Anna. She took a sip of tea and looked smiling. When the ambassador's wife looked at her, she returned a look of admiration.
In less than half an hour, she easily resolved the fight between the little women.
The conversation went on, the subject changed too quickly, Anna stopped showing off, she became the best listener and follower, and then she went to the dressing room.
Anna tidied her clothes, and when she came out, she heard a low voice of conversation when she passed the corner.
She didn't stay to eavesdrop, to avoid unnecessary trouble.
When Anna returned to the living room, she looked at everyone and found that Betsy and the young man had disappeared. While she was thinking secretly, Betsy came back again.
Not long after, Vronsky's sister got up and went to the dressing room, and the two women touched their earlobes with their fingers as a signal for communication. Vronsky's sister left with a little blush on her cheeks.
Betsy got up and went to Duchess Mijaheki and greeted them charmingly.
Anna looked away, but saw Vronsky looking at her.