“I don’t dance when it’s possible not to dance,” she said.

“But tonight it’s impossible,” answered Korsunsky.

At that instant Vronsky came up.

“Well, since it’s impossible tonight, let us start,” she said, not noticing Vronsky’s bow, and she hastily put her hand on Korsunsky’s shoulder.

“What is she vexed with him about?” thought Kitty, discerning that Anna had intentionally not responded to Vronsky’s bow.  Vronsky went up to Kitty reminding her of the first quadrille, and expressing his regret that he had not seen her all this time.  Kitty gazed in admiration at Anna waltzing, and listened to him.  She expected him to ask her for a waltz, but he did not, and she glanced wonderingly at him.  He flushed slightly, and hurriedly asked her to waltz, but he had only just put his arm round her waist and taken the first step when the music suddenly stopped.  Kitty looked into his face, which was so close to her own, and long afterwards—­for several years after—­that look, full of love, to which he made no response, cut her to the heart with an agony of shame.

“Pardon! pardon! Waltz! waltz!” shouted Korsunsky from the other side of the room, and seizing the first young lady he came across he began dancing himself.

Chapter 23

Vronsky and Kitty waltzed several times round the room.  After the first waltz Kitty went to her mother, and she had hardly time to say a few words to Countess Nordston when Vronsky came up again for the first quadrille.  During the quadrille nothing of any significance was said:  there was disjointed talk between them of the Korsunskys, husband and wife, whom he described very amusingly, as delightful children at forty, and of the future town theater; and only once the conversation touched her to the quick, when he asked her about Levin, whether he was here, and added that he liked him so much.  But Kitty did not expect much from the quadrille.  She looked forward with a thrill at her heart to the mazurka.  She fancied that in the mazurka everything must be decided.  The fact that he did not during the quadrille ask her for the mazurka did not trouble her.  She felt sure she would dance the mazurka with him as she had done at former balls, and refused five young men, saying she was engaged for the mazurka.  The whole ball up to the last quadrille was for Kitty an enchanted vision of delightful colors, sounds, and motions.  She only sat down when she felt too tired and begged for a rest.  But as she was dancing the last quadrille with one of the tiresome young men whom she could not refuse, she chanced to be vis-a-vis with Vronsky and Anna.  She had not been near Anna again since the beginning of the evening, and now again she saw her suddenly quite new and surprising.  She saw in her the signs of that excitement of success she knew so well in herself; she saw that she was intoxicated with the delighted admiration she was exciting.  She knew that feeling and knew its signs, and saw them in Anna; saw the quivering, flashing light in her eyes, and the smile of happiness and excitement unconsciously playing on her lips, and the deliberate grace, precision, and lightness of her movements.