his heart would swell with love, the tears would come into his eyes, and he would wait until the lady drew near him, and raised her veil; then he would see her face; she would kiss him, smile upon him; he would feel the sweet caress of her hand, smell the well-known perfume, and weep with joy, as he did one evening when he lay at her feet, and she tickled him, and he laughed so heartily, and gently bit her white hand, covered with rings.
Later, when he learned accidentally from the old nurse that his mother was alive, and that his father and the countess had told him that she was dead because she was a wicked woman, this seemed still more impossible to Serozha, because he loved her; and he looked for her, and longed for her.
That very day, in the summer garden, there had been a lady in a lilac veil, and, with his heart beating violently, expecting that it was she, he saw her take the same footpath where he was walking; but this lady did not come up where he was, and she disappeared from sight. Serozha felt a stronger love than ever for his mother; and now, while waiting for his father, he was cutting his desk with his penknife; with shining eyes, he was looking straight ahead, and thinking of her.
"Here comes your papa," said Vasili Lukitch.
Serozha jumped up from the chair, ran to kiss his father's hand, and looked for some sign of pleasure because he had received the order of Alexander Nevsky.
"Did you have a good walk?" asked Alekseï Aleksandrovitch, as he sat down in an armchair, taking up the Old Testament and opening it.
Though he had often told Serozha that every Christian ought to know the sacred history by heart, he had often to consult the Old Testament for his lessons; and Serozha noticed it.
"Yes, papa, I enjoyed it very much," said Serozha, sitting across his chair, and tipping it, which was forbidden. "I saw Nadenka" (Nadenka was the countess's niece, whom she adopted) "and she told me that they've given you a new star. Are you glad, papa?"
