The Strain of War Preparations — War and Peace

Lise joins Pierre and Andrew after the salon mask drops off. She opens with flirtatious French chatter, then latches onto Pierre's question: why does Andrew need war when he already has a brilliant staff post and half of Petersburg knows his name? Her tone turns sharp. She is pregnant, though she will not say it plainly, and she dreads being left in the country without friends while he chases glory.

Andrew answers with frigid politeness, as if surprised anyone else is in the room, and sends her to bed on doctor's orders. Pierre tries to mediate, then bolts when tears make the room feel indecent. Lise accuses Andrew of treating her like a child; he warns her once.

Then she flips to a pleading, submissive smile, kisses his forehead, and he bids her good night with a stranger's hand-kiss. Nothing is settled. The chapter ends on performance again: intimacy performed for a guest, real fear left on the floor.