“Well, I must say, I cannot understand it!” said the general, shrugging his shoulders and dropping his hands. “You remember your mother, Nina Alexandrovna, that day she came and sat here and groaned--and when I asked her what was the matter, she says, ‘Oh, it’s such a _dishonour_ to us!’ dishonour! Stuff and nonsense! I should like to know who can reproach Nastasia Philipovna, or who can say a word of any kind against her. Did she mean because Nastasia had been living with Totski? What nonsense it is! You would not let her come near your daughters, says Nina Alexandrovna. What next, I wonder? I don’t see how she can fail to--to understand--”
“What did you mean, sir, that he didn’t exist? Explain yourself,” he repeated, angrily.
The note was written and folded anyhow, evidently in a great hurry, and probably just before Aglaya had come down to the verandah.The presence of certain of those in the room surprised the prince vastly, but the guest whose advent filled him with the greatest wonder--almost amounting to alarm--was Evgenie Pavlovitch. The prince could not believe his eyes when he beheld the latter, and could not help thinking that something was wrong.
| “My goodness, Lef Nicolaievitch, why, you can’t have heard a single word I said! Look at me, I’m still trembling all over with the dreadful shock! It is that that kept me in town so late. Evgenie Pavlovitch’s uncle--” |
“With pleasure! In fact, it is very necessary. I like your readiness, prince; in fact, I must say--I--I--like you very well, altogether,” said the general.
| But there was another question, which terrified him considerably, and that was: what was he going to do when he _did_ get in? And to this question he could fashion no satisfactory reply. |
| “You wouldn’t believe how you have pained and astonished me,” cried the prince. |
| “She sent to say, yesterday morning, that I was never to dare to come near the house again.” |
“Of course, naturally. The bridegroom is an impossible and ridiculous one. I mean, has _she_ given her formal consent?”
“Hold your tongue, dragon-fly!” he scolded. “What a plague you are!” He stamped his foot irritably, but she only laughed, and answered:
| A great deal of sympathy was expressed; a considerable amount of advice was volunteered; Ivan Petrovitch expressed his opinion that the young man was “a Slavophile, or something of that sort”; but that it was not a dangerous development. The old dignitary said nothing. |
| The doorway was dark and gloomy at any time; but just at this moment it was rendered doubly so by the fact that the thunder-storm had just broken, and the rain was coming down in torrents. |
| “Why, how strange!” he ejaculated. “You didn’t answer me seriously, surely, did you?” |
The general laughed with great satisfaction, and applied himself once more to the champagne.
He took her hand and seated her on the bench; then sat down beside her and reflected.
| PART II |
The prince was rather alarmed at all this, and was obliged to end by appointing the same hour of the following day for the interview desired. The general left him much comforted and far less agitated than when he had arrived.
| “I have only retired for a time,” said he, laughing. “For a few months; at most for a year.” |
“Enough! enough! Mr. Terentieff,” interrupted Gania.
“From whom? To whom?”
| “Ha, ha! I never supposed you would say ‘yes,’” cried Rogojin, laughing sardonically. |