Nicholas expressed his disapproval of the postponement of themarriage for a year; but Natasha attacked her brother withexasperation, proving to him that it could not be otherwise, andthat it would be a bad thing to enter a family against the father'swill, and that she herself wished it so.

　　"You don't at all understand," she said.

　　Nicholas was silent and agreed with her.

　　Her brother often wondered as he looked at her. She did not seemat all like a girl in love and parted from her affianced husband.She was even-tempered and calm and quite as cheerful as of old. Thisamazed Nicholas and even made him regard Bolkonski's courtshipskeptically. He could not believe that her fate was sealed, especiallyas he had not seen her with Prince Andrew. It always seemed to himthat there was something not quite right about this intended marriage.

　　"Why this delay? Why no betrothal?" he thought. Once, when he hadtouched on this topic with his mother, he discovered, to hissurprise and somewhat to his satisfaction, that in the depth of hersoul she too had doubts about this marriage.

　　"You see he writes," said she, showing her son a letter of PrinceAndrew's, with that latent grudge a mother always has in regard to adaughter's future married happiness, "he writes that he won't comebefore December. What can be keeping him? Illness, probably! Hishealth is very delicate. Don't tell Natasha. And don't attachimportance to her being so bright: that's because she's living throughthe last days of her girlhood, but I know what she is like everytime we receive a letter from him! However, God grant thateverything turns out well!" (She always ended with these words.) "Heis an excellent man!"BK7|CH2

　　CHAPTER II

　　After reaching home Nicholas was at first serious and even dull.He was worried by the impending necessity of interfering in the stupidbusiness matters for which his mother had called him home. To throwoff this burden as quickly as possible, on the third day after hisarrival he went, angry and scowling and without answering questions asto where he was going, to Mitenka's lodge and demanded an account ofeverything. But what an account of everything might be Nicholas kneweven less than the frightened and bewildered Mitenka. The conversationand the examination of the accounts with Mitenka did not last long.The village elder, a peasant delegate, and the village clerk, who werewaiting in the passage, heard with fear and delight first the youngcount's voice roaring and snapping and rising louder and louder, andthen words of abuse, dreadful words, ejaculated one after the other.