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She did not hear half of what he was saying; she felt

panic-stricken before him, and was thinking whether it was true

that Vronsky was not killed. Was it of him they were speaking

when they said the rider was unhurt, but the horse had broken its

back? She merely smiled with a pretense of irony when he

finished, and made no reply, because she had not heard what he

said. Alexey Alexandrovitch had begun to speak boldly, but as he

realized plainly what he was speaking of, the dismay she was

feeling infected him too. He saw the smile, and a strange

misapprehension came over him.

"She is smiling at my suspicions. Yes, she will tell me directly

what she told me before; that there is no foundation for my

suspicions, that it's absurd."