sincere in acknowledging Márya’s superiority, but at the same time by saying it she made a demand on Pierre that he should, all the same, prefer her to Márya and to all other women, and that now, especially after having seen many women in Petersburg, he should tell her so afresh.
Pierre, answering Natásha’s words, told her how intolerable it had been for him to meet ladies at dinners and balls in Petersburg.
“I have quite lost the knack of talking to ladies,” he said.
“It was simply dull. Besides, I was very busy.”
Natásha looked intently at him and went on:
“Márya is so splendid,” she said. “How she understands children! It is as if she saw straight into their souls. Yesterday, for instance, Mítenka was naughty …”
“How like his father he is,” Pierre interjected.
Natásha knew why he mentioned Mítenka’s likeness to Nikoláy: