- Anna has been staying at her house in the country.
- Vronsky arrives at Anna's house and tries to attract as little attention as possible.
- He's excited to see Anna again, but then he remembers her son.
- Her son has been an obstacle in their affair.
- Without planning on it, they never talk naturally in front of Seryozha, but the boy still seems to feel that something's weird between them. He appears confused about how he should treat Vronsky.
- Vronsky finds Anna alone in the garden, pressing her head against a watering can.
- He asks if she's okay.
- He speaks French to her, as is his custom, because in Russian, the word "you" is either incredibly intimate or horribly cold.
- He keeps asking her what the matter is.
- She debates whether to tell him, wondering if he will realize the importance of her news.
- She tells Vronsky that she is pregnant.
- She thinks he understands the news the same way she does, but he doesn't.
- Vronsky argues that they need to stop living a lie. He points out that Anna is tormented.
- Vronsky wants Anna to leave Karenin and come and live with him. He sees that she suffers guilt over her husband and son, and he wants her to tie her life to Vronsky, instead. Anna says that she won't, that her husband means nothing to her—after all, he doesn't even know. But she still wells up with tears of shame, and refuses to speak of Karenin further.