Anna Karenina - LimpidSoft

PART SEVEN CHAPTER 20
unluckily he was so far from being attracted by her that he thought her positively
disagreeable. What made it hard to change the conversation was the fact that he was
very attractive to her. So that he was considerably relieved at the arrival of Princess
Myakaya, which cut short their tête-à -tête.
“Ah, so you’re here!” said she when she saw him. “Well, and what news of your
poor sister? You needn’t look at me like that,” she added. “Ever since they’ve all
turned against her, all those who’re a thousand times worse than she, I’ve thought
she did a very fine thing. I can’t forgive Vronsky for not letting me know when she
was in Petersburg. I’d have gone to see her and gone about with her everywhere.
Please give her my love. Come, tell me about her.”
“Yes, her position is very difficult; she...” began Stepan Arkadyevitch, in the simplicity
of his heart accepting as sterling coin Princess Myakaya’s words “tell me
about her.” Princess Myakaya interrupted him immediately, as she always did, and
began talking herself.
“She’s done what they all do, except me–only they hide it. But she wouldn’t be
deceitful, and she did a fine thing. And she did better still in throwing up that crazy
brother-in-law of yours. You must excuse me. Everybody used to say he was so
clever, so very clever; I was the only one that said he was a fool. Now that he’s so
thick with Lidia Ivanovna and Landau, they all say he’s crazy, and I should prefer
not to agree with everybody, but this time I can’t help it.”
“Oh, do please explain,” said Stepan Arkadyevitch; “what does it mean? Yesterday
I was seeing him on my sister’s behalf, and I asked him to give me a final answer.
He gave me no answer, and said he would think it over. But this morning, instead of
an answer, I received an invitation from Countess Lidia Ivanovna for this evening.”
“Ah, so that’s it, that’s it!” said Princess Myakaya gleefully, “they’re going to ask
Landau what he’s to say.”
“Ask Landau? What for? Who or what’s Landau?”
“What! you don’t know Jules Landau, le fameux Jules Landau, le clairvoyant? He’s
crazy too, but on him your sister’s fate depends. See what comes of living in the
provinces–you know nothing about anything. Landau, do you see, was a commis in
a shop in Paris, and he went to a doctor’s; and in the doctor’s waiting room he fell
asleep, and in his sleep he began giving advice to all the patients. And wonderful
advice it was! Then the wife of Yury Meledinsky–you know, the invalid?–heard of
this Landau, and had him to see her husband. And he cured her husband, though I
can’t say that I see he did him much good, for he’s just as feeble a creature as ever
he was, but they believed in him, and took him along with them and brought him to
Russia. Here there’s been a general rush to him, and he’s begun doctoring everyone.
He cured Countess Bezzubova, and she took such a fancy to him that she adopted
him.”
“Adopted him?”
“Yes, as her son. He’s not Landau any more now, but Count Bezzubov. That’s
neither here nor there, though; but Lidia–I’m very fond of her, but she has a screw
loose somewhere–has lost her heart to this Landau now, and nothing is settled now
in her house or Alexey Alexandrovitch’s without him, and so your sister’s fate is
now in the hands of Landau, alias Count Bezzubov.”
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