In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 28

My Masters project started and I began applying for PhDs, both of which knocked me for a loop, hence the delays.  I've gotten things a little more under control now, so we'll see how this goes.

Chapter 28

Pierre has decided to disguise his identity and pretend he doesn't speak French, at least until he gets a chance to kill Napoleon.  He'd intended to hide from the French knocking at the door entirely, but he's too curious.  The French officer comes in, compliments the decour (in French) and complains about the Russians not speaking any French.

Makar Alexeevich tries to shoot him, but is stopped by Pierre.  In all the excitement, Pierre forgets not to speak French, because he's a big dumb kitten who is absolutely terrible at all this.

(The joke there is that Josh Groban plays Pierre in Great Comet).  Pierre pleads with the Officer not to punish Makar because he's a drunk who doesn't know what he's doing.  The officer concludes that Pierre must be French because, from his point of view, only the French can perform noble deeds.

Pierre tries to convince him otherwise, but the officer just winks at him and says they can tell that to others.  He hails Pierre as a brother, and Pierre gives up on convincing him otherwise.  To be fair, Pierre was raised in France and has a French name, so he can't really go around objecting when people assume he's French.  The soldiers move in comfortably and start preparing their lunch.