Levin only returns when he is called to supper. Kitty and the housekeeper are talking about wines, and Kitty is telling her that Stepan Arkadyevitch only drinks a certain kind. Levin walks right past her, though she tries to stop him. In the dining room, Stepan Arkadyevitch and Veslovsky talk with him about hunting. Both men are rather insolent and act far too familiar in a home that is not their own. They decide to hunt early in the morning, and the two guests suggest that all three of them should stay up all night so they can leave early. Dolly ironically says her husband is very good at that.

Stepan Arkadyevitch announces that Veslovsky has been to stay with Anna Karenina, and the Shtcherbatsky women are all eager to hear the news. They are all huddled at one end of the table; when Levin looks at them he just sees whispering and then notices an expression of real feeling on Kitty’s face as she gazes at her handsome cousin while he talks animatedly.

Veslovsky tells them that the home in the country where Anna Karenina is staying is quite nice, and she and Vronsky are thinking of going to Moscow. Stepan Arkadyevitch suggests they should all go see them in July. He asks Dolly if she will go, and she readily agrees to the idea. When he asks Kitty, she flushes and glances at her husband before leaving the conversation.

Kitty asks Levin if they will be hunting in the morning. It is an innocent question, but Levin has been watching his wife gaze at, talk to, and blush at Veslovsky. In his jealousy, Levin construes her question as a request that he show the man she loves a good day of hunting. When Kitty suggests that they wait a day or Dolly will never even see her husband, Levin once again misinterprets her simple comment to mean that she does not care if he goes, but she does not want to separated from her cousin. Levin agrees, with “peculiar amiability,” that they will not go hunting in the morning.

Veslovsky is totally unaware of the consternation his presence has caused; he watches Kitty with admiring eyes and then follows her. Levin sees the look and is furious; now his jealousy goes even further, and he perceives that he is a deceived husband who is being used by his wife and her lover to provide the conveniences and pleasures of life.

Once nearly everyone retires for the evening, Kitty tries to find out what is wrong with Levin; he finally erupts and tells her everything he had been thinking. He is humiliated at himself even as he speaks. Kitty denies everything, though in her heart she thinks perhaps Veslovsky had looked at her with something else in his eyes. For a moment she is offended by Levin’s jealousy, but when she see how deeply he affected she is ready to give anything for his peace of mind. She even rejoices at the depth of his love for her.

Kitty realizes what he must have seen and explains that they were talking about Anna Karenina and that is why she had been blushing. Levin begs her forgiveness for distressing her. They will go hunting in the morning after all.