ve;
she had not wanted him to know, and had done her best to hide her
feeling, but from her face she knew that he understood her perfectly
--and her pride suffered. But what was most humiliating in her
position was that, since her wedding, Volodya had suddenly begun
to pay her attention, which he had never done before, spending hours
with her, sitting silent or chattering about trifles; and even now
in the sledge, though he did not talk to her, he touched her foot
with his and pressed her hand a little. Evidently that was all he
wanted, that she should be married; and it was evident that he
despised her and that she only excited in him an interest of a
special kind as though she were an immoral and disreputable woman.
And when the feeling of triumph and love for her husband were mingled
in her soul with humiliation and wounded pride, she was overcome
by a spirit of defiance, and longed to sit on the box, to shout and
whistle to the horses.

Just as they passed the nunnery the huge hundred-ton bell rang out.
Rita crossed herself.

"Our Olga is in that nunnery," said Sofya Lvovna, and she, too,
crossed herself and shuddered.

"Why did she go into the nunnery?" said the Colonel.

"_Par depit_," Rita answered crossly, with obvious allusion to
Sofya's marrying Yagitch. "_Par depit_ is all the fashion nowadays.
Defiance of all the world. She was always laughing, a desperate
flirt, fond of nothing but balls and young men, and all of a sudden
off she went--to surprise every one!"

"That's not true," said Volodya, turning down the collar of his fur
coat and showing his handsome face. "It wasn't a case of _par depit_;
it was simply horrible, if you like. Her brother Dmitri was sent
to penal servitude, and they don't know where he is now. And her
mother died of grief."

He turned up his collar again.

"Olga did well," he added in a muffled voice. "Living as an adopted
child, and with such a paragon as Sofya Lvovna,--one must take
that into consideration too!"

Sofya Lvovna heard a tone of contempt in his voice, and longed to
say something rude to him, but she said nothing. The spirit of
defiance came over her again; she stood up again and shouted in a
tearful voice:

"I want to go to the early service! Driver, back! I want to see
Olga."

They turned back. The nunnery bell had a deep note, and Sofya Lvovna
fancied there was something in it that reminded her of Olga and her
life. The other church bells began ringing