The morning after the ball, Anna Karenina sends her husband a telegram saying she will be leaving Moscow today. Her sister-in-law pleads with her to stay, but she claims she has so many things to do she cannot even number them all. Stepan Arkadyevitch is out but has promised to come see his sister off at seven o’clock. Kitty has sent a note saying she is ill, so Darya Alexandrovitch and Anna Karenina dine with the children and the governess. The children, for whatever reason, are no longer enamored of their aunt and are indifferent at the thought of her leaving.

Anna Karenina spends the morning preparing for her departure, writing notes to her acquaintances in Moscow, getting her accounts in order, and packing her belongings. Darya Alexandrovitch senses that her sister-in-law is not in a “placid state of mind”; instead she senses the woman is worried, generally an indication of some kind of dissatisfaction with self. When Anna Karenina goes to her room after dinner to dress, her sister-in-law follows her.

When Darya Alexandrovitch remarks on her mood, Anna Karenina claims she is sometimes like that, feeling as if she could cry. It is a silly thing and will soon pass, she says quickly as she hides her flushed face in her packing. Just as she did not want to leave St. Petersburg, she explains, now she does not want to leave Moscow.

Darya Alexandrovitch looks at her intently and tells her she came here to do a good deed, but Anna Karenina dismisses the praise and says she did nothing and could never do anything and wonders why people keep trying to give her false praise--Darya Alexandrovitch simply had enough love in her heart to forgive her husband. When Darya Alexandrovitch goes on about Anna Karenina’s pure heart, she feels compelled to confess why she is leaving Moscow so soon and so abruptly.

Anna Karenina tells Darya Alexandrovitch that she is the reason Kitty did not come to dinner, and she is the cause of what should have been a delightful ball becoming a tortuous affair for the young girl. Kitty is jealous of her, and Anna Karenina has spoiled everything for the girl—though most of it was not her fault. As she speaks the words, Anna Karenina realizes it is more than her shame and guilt about these things which is prompting her to leave. She is beginning to feel something for Vronsky and she must leave earlier in order to avoid meeting him again.

Anna Karenina is convinced that Vronsky felt nothing serious for Kitty and that the girl will soon quit hating her, but Darya Alexandrovitch notes that it is probably best for Kitty to know it now if Vronsky is capable of falling in love with someone else in a single day. This is the very idea, of Vronsky loving her, which has been making Anna Karenina’s heart leap with pleasure all day. She asks her sister-in-law to make things right with Kitty, and Darya Alexandrovitch smiles at the thought of Karenina being Kitty’s enemy. When she hugs her good-bye, Darya Alexandrovitch says she will never forget what Anna Karenina did for her and she will always love her as a dearest friend.