"But, my dear princess," answered Anna Mikhaylovna blandly but impressively, blocking the way to the bedroom and preventing the other from passing, "won't this be too much for poor Uncle at a moment when he needs repose?

He laughed blandly at her naive diplomacy but listened to what she had to say, and sometimes questioned her carefully about the Penza and Nizhegorod estates.

Count Ilya Rostov smiled blandly and nodded approval.

Having listened to her mother's objections, Helene smiled blandly and ironically.

But Kutuzov went on blandly smiling with the same expression, which seemed to say that he had a right to suppose so.