“It did me so much good to tell all about it today. It was hard and painful, but good, very good!” said Natásha. “I am sure he really loved him. That is why I told him … Was it all right?” she added, suddenly blushing.
“To tell Pierre? Oh, yes. What a splendid man he is!” said Princess Márya.
“Do you know, Márya …” Natásha suddenly said with a mischievous smile such as Princess Márya had not seen on her face for a long time, “he has somehow grown so clean, smooth, and fresh—as if he had just come out of a Russian bath; do you understand? Out of a moral bath. Isn’t it true?”
“Yes,” replied Princess Márya. “He has greatly improved.”
“With a short coat and his hair cropped; just as