In which Anna returns home at night with a radiant but troubled countenance, and her husband, Alexey Alexandrovitch, endeavours to caution her gently about the proprieties expected in their society, only to encounter a sudden, impenetrable distance between them. Their ensuing conversation, marked by restraint and unspoken resentments, reveals the quiet fissures within their union, as Anna retreats into a guarded silence filled with restless thoughts.