came on Tuesday.
But on Tuesday evening, having come to Elèn’s splendid salon, Borís received no clear explanation of why it had been necessary for him to come. There were other guests and the countess talked little to him, and only as he kissed her hand on taking leave said unexpectedly and in a whisper, with a strangely unsmiling face: “Come to dinner tomorrow … in the evening. You must come. … Come!”
During that stay in Petersburg, Borís became an intimate in the countess’ house.
VIII
The war was flaming up and nearing the Russian frontier. Everywhere one heard curses on Bonaparte, “the enemy of mankind.” Militiamen and recruits were being enrolled in the villages, and from the seat of war came contradictory news, false as usual and therefore variously interpreted. The life of old Prince Bolkónski, Prince Andréy, and Princess Márya had greatly changed since 1805.