Page:Anna Karenina.djvu/237

 CHAPTER XVII

went up-stairs, his pockets bulging out with "promises to pay," due in three months, which the merchant had given him. The sale of the forest was concluded; he had money in his pocket; sport had been good; and Stepan Arkadyevitch was in the happiest frame of mind, and therefore was especially eager to dispel the sadness which had taken possession of Levin. He wanted a good ending for the day that since dinner had shown such promise.

In point of fact, Levin was not in good spirits, and in spite of his desire to seem amiable and thoughtful toward his beloved guest, he could not control himself. The intoxication which he felt in learning that Kitty was not married had begun little by little to affect him.

Kitty not married, and ill—ill from love for a man who had jilted her. It was almost like a personal insult. Vronsky had slighted her, and she had slighted him. Levin, consequently, had gained the right to despise him. He was therefore his enemy. Levin did not reason this all out. He had a vague sense that there was something in this humiliating to him, and he was angry now because it had upset his plans, and so everything which came up annoyed him. The stupid sale of the forest, which had taken place under his roof, and the way Oblonsky had been cheated, exasperated him.

"Well, is it finished?" he asked, as he met Stepan Arkadyevitch up-stairs. "Would you like some supper?"

"Yes, I won't refuse. What an appetite I feel in the country! It's wonderful! Why did n't you offer a bite to Rabinin?"

"Ah! the devil take him!"

"Why! how you treated him!" exclaimed Oblonsky. "You didn't even offer him your hand! Why didn't you offer him your hand?"

"Because I don't shake hands with my lackey, and my lackey is worth a hundred of him."