I shall not forget your interests." Pierre did not understand a word, but the conviction that all this had to be grew stronger, and he meekly followed Anna Mikhaylovna who was already opening a door.
This door led into a back anteroom.

An old man, a servant of the princesses, sat in a corner knitting a stocking.

Pierre had never been in this part of the house and did not even know of the existence of these rooms.

Anna Mikhaylovna, addressing a maid who was hurrying past with a decanter on a tray as "my dear" and "my sweet," asked about the princess' health and then led Pierre along a stone passage.

The first door on the left led into the princesses' apartments.