At ten o’clock the next day, Levin knocks on the door to Veslovsky’s room. The man is just finishing his morning ablutions and is only wearing his underclothes. He is ashamed that the ladies are already up and asks Levin to show him his stables. After their walk, Levin escorts his guest back to the house where the ladies are sitting in the drawing room.

Veslovsky immediately finds Kitty and tells her they had a delightful time. Levin watches and says to himself that the man has to say something to his hostess, but again he fancies he sees something in the man’s smile and “all-conquering air” with which he addresses Kitty.

The old princess calls Levin over to her and begins to talk to him about moving Kitty to Moscow for her confinement. Just as he had disliked all the petty arrangements and details preceding the wedding because they seemed to detract from the grandness of the event, Levin finds this discussion offensive and intrusive. He tries not to disengage himself from all the details about baby clothes and other trivial things which seem so important to others.

The idea of a son (which he is sure it will be) is such an immense and mysterious thing to him that the specific preparations for him seem too ordinary and confusing to Levin. His mother-in-law does not understand Levin’s conflicted feelings and continues to talk with careless indifference, giving him no peace. She has asked Stepan Arkadyevitch to find the Levins a suitable place to live while they were in Moscow, but Levin is not willing to make any decisions. In fact, he says that he knows of many healthy babies which have been born in places other than Moscow, but the princess continues and Levin says he will defer to Kitty’s wishes.

As he looks over at his wife, Levin again sees something sinister in Veslovsky and imagines he sees Kitty reciprocate with her attitude and look. In that moment his jealousy takes him from the pinnacle of happiness into an “abyss of despair, rage, and humiliation.” Once again everyone and everything seems hateful to him. Stepan Arkadyevitch finds Levin’s distress amusing. Dolly arrives, and Veslovsky merely makes a brief bow before resuming his conversation with Kitty and laughs about something.

Veslovsky and Kitty are discussing Anna Karenina and whether love is more important than such things as marriage. Kitty dislikes this conversation, both its content and the tone with which her cousin is discussing it. She also knows the likely affect this conversation is having on her husband; unfortunately, Kitty is too simple and innocent to extricate herself from it and blushes at his attentions. Levin sees the blush and storms past her.

Kitty catches him and asks what is wrong. They try to find a private place to speak for a moment, but there are people in every place they try. Kitty says they cannot go on in this misery, and Levin stands aggressively, just as he had the other night. She admits there is something in Veslovsky’s tone but she is not to blame. Sobbing, she asks why he had to come and remembers how happy they had once been.

The gardener sees Levin and Kitty walk back into the house with comforted and radiant faces.