In Which We Discuss War and Peace - Chapter XVI

Darling Bory is now visiting with Pierre, who has been expelled from St Petersburg for bear-shenigans ('riotous conduct') and sent to Moscow.  Pierre is pretty sure that all the ladies who want Count Cyril's money will be using this story to blacken his name to his father, but he still tried to visit his old man as soon as he got home.  His cousins, identical princesses (except one has a mole) are not impressed with him.  One of them is the niece who was unimpressed with Anna.  It is not stated whether it was the one with or without the mole.

They accuse him of killing his father with his drunken-bear-shenanigans, so he goes off to sulk instead.  Prince Vasili turned up the next day to reinforce the message, so Pierre has continued to hide in his rooms and not visit his papa this entire time.

Darling Bory catches Pierre threatening and play-fighting with his shadow; presumably, he's gone a bit stir-crazy.  He's pretending to be Napoleon and sentencing one of the Pitts as a traitor to England.  Nice of him to care.

Darling Bory is now described as 'well-built and handsome' and the opinion seems to be coming from Pierre.  Apparently, they haven't seen each other since Darling Bory was fourteen.  Bory knows that Pierre doesn't recognise him, but decides to just let him feel awkward.  Pierre then mixes up half a dozen characters trying to place Darling Bory, which makes me feel a bit better.  He decides to talk military strategy - he thinks England will lose to Napoleon, if the latter can only get across the channel - but it all goes straight over Bory's head.  Darling Bory hasn't been reading his newspapers.  I am unimpressed with his soldiering.  He points out that Moscow are more interesting in 'dinner parties and scandal' than politics.

Darling Bory is now claiming that everyone except him and his mother have come to ask Uncle Cyril for money.  Anna and Darling Bory have shown up with only love and good intentions.

Darling Bory then changes the subject to war - which is discussed rather like the modern equivalents might be discussing football - and invites Pierre to dinner.  Darling Bory is then called out to leave with his mother, who is still proclaiming her familial love for Cyril and definitely not money.  In the carriage, they discuss whether Pierre stands to inherit anything.  Anna points out, again, that Cyril is very rich and she and Darling Bory are very poor; Bory knows this isn't a good reason for Cyril to give them an inheritance.