- When Vronsky returns that night, Anna is still not at home. The servants tell him that she had gone out with some lady.
- Vronsky is increasingly puzzled by Anna's behavior. Vronsky resolves to clear things up between them.
- Anna returns with her aunt, Princess Barbara Oblonsky.
- Vronsky is increasingly worried, but Anna ignores the signs.
- Tushkevich arrives with a note from Princess Betsy expressing her regret that she can't come say good-bye to Anna.
- Anna asks Tushkevich to procure a box for the opera, and then asks him to dine with them. Vronsky is amazed at the first request—Anna will see all of her former society friends at the opera.
- Throughout dinner, Anna flirts aggressively with both Yashvin and Tushkevich.
- After dinner, Vronsky tries to dissuade Anna from going to the opera, but she insists that it's harmless. It seems more like she refuses to accept her new position as a social outcast.
- Anna looks absolutely beautiful in her evening dress, but all Vronsky feels is irritation.