In the carriage, Stiva wonders at her quivering lips and her tears. "It's an omen of evil," Anna says, and changes the subject. "Have you known Vronsky long?" she asks. "Yes," answers Stiva, "We're hoping he will marry Kitty." Indeed?" says Anna softly, then with a toss of her head, "Come, let's talk about you and what you wrote me about in your letter."
Anna's kindness and warmth, as well as her accurate recollection of the names, ages, and past illnesses of the Oblonsky children win Dolly's confidence. Eventually Anna talks of the problem that brought her to Moscow in the first place. She points out how miserable Stiva felt at his infidelity and how repentant he is. "I don't know how much love there still is in your heart for him," she tells Dolly. "You alone know whether there is enough for you to be able to forgive. If there is, then forgive him!" Dolly won over by Anna's sympathy and understanding, feels much comforted.
Kitty calls on the following day, soon finding herself in love with Anna, "as young girls often fall in love with older and married women." Anna's eagerness, freshness, and the elasticity of her movements seem to be those of a girl in her twenties, while her seriousness and mournful smile attract Kitty to her maturity. Congratulating Kitty on behalf of Vronsky, Anna relates an incident where the young man had saved a woman from drowning, a story told her by Countess Vronsky. But she does not mention the incident of the 200 rubles: fearing something personal in that gesture, she does not like to think of it. Dolly's children, shrieking with delight to see their aunt, interrupt further conversation, while Anna runs laughing to meet them. After dinner, Vronsky unexpectedly passes by but declines to join them. Kitty assumes he comes to seek her but does not wish to intrude while they have a guest. The visit seems odd to all of them, but particularly to Anna and she is troubled.
