Complete Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky (78 page)

“I ad — ore her!” murmured the poor old man, still trembling like an autumnal leaf.

“And you’ll consent to leave your mother!” cried Maria Alexandrovna, throwing herself upon her daughter once more. Zina made haste to bring this, to her, painful scene to an end. She stretched her pretty hand silently to the prince, and even forced herself to smile. The prince reverently took the little hand into his own, and covered it with kisses.

“I am only this mo — ment beginning to live,” he mutterred, in a voice that seemed choking with rapture and ecstasy.

“Zina,” began Maria Alexandrovna, solemnly, “look well at this man! This is the most honest and upright and noble man of all the men I know. He is a knight of the middle ages! But she knows it, Prince, she knows it too well; to my grief I say it. Oh! why did you come here? I am surrendering my treasure to you — my angel! Oh! take care of her, Prince. Her mother entreats you to watch over her. And what mother could blame my grief!”

“Enough, mamma! that’s enough,” said Zina, quietly.

“Protect her from all hurt and insult, Prince! Can I rely upon your sword to flash in the face of the vile scandal-monger who dares to offend my Zina?”

“Enough, mother, I tell you! am I —— ?”

“Ye — yes, ye — yes, it shall flash all right,” said the prince. “But I want to be married now, at once. I — I’m only just learning what it is to live. I want to send off to Donchanovo at once. I want to send for some di — iamonds I have there. I want to lay them at her feet. —— I — —”

“What noble ardour! what ecstasy of love! what noble, generous feelings you have, Prince!” cried Maria Alexandrovna. “And you could bury yourself —
bury
yourself, far from the world and society! I shall remind you of this a thousand times! I go mad when I think of that
hellish
woman.”

“What could I do? I was fri — ghtened!” stammered the prince in a whining voice: “they wanted to put me in a lu — unatic asylum! I was dreadfully alarmed!”

“In a lunatic asylum? Ah, the scoundrels! oh, the inhuman wretches! Ah, the low cunning of them! Yes, Prince; I had heard of it. But the lunacy was in these people, not in
you
. Why,
why
was it — what for?”

“I don’t know myself, what it was for,” replied the poor old man, feebly sinking into his chair; “I was at a ball, don’t you know, and told some an — ecdote or other and they didn’t like it; and so they got up a scandal and a ro — ow.”

“Surely that was not all, Prince?”

“No; — the — I was playing cards with Prince Paul De — mentieff, and I was cleared out: you see, I had two kings and three quee — ns, three kings and two qu — eens; or I should say — one king — and some queens — I know I had —— .”

“And it was for this? Oh, the hellish inhumanity of some people! You are weeping, Prince; but be of good cheer — it is all over now! Now I shall be at hand, dearest Prince, — I shall not leave Zina; and we shall see which of them will dare to say a word to you,
then
! And do you know, my Prince, your marriage will expose them! it will shame them! They will see that you are a man — that a lovely girl like our Zina would never have married a madman! You shall raise your head proudly now, and look them straight in the face!”

“Ye — yes; I shall look them straight in the f — ace!” murmured the prince, slowly shutting his eyes.

Maria Alexandrovna saw that her work was done: the prince was tired out with love and emotion. She was only wasting her eloquence!

“Prince, you are disturbed and tired, I see you are!” she said; “you must rest, you must take a good rest after so much agitation,” she added, bending over him maternally.

“Ye — yes, ye — yes; I should like to lie down a little,” said the old man.

“Of course, of course! you must lie down! those agitating scenes —— stop, I will escort you myself, and arrange your couch with my own hands! Why are you looking so hard at that portrait, Prince? That is my mother’s picture; she was an angel — not a woman! Oh, why is she not among us at this joyful moment!”

“Ye — yes; charming — charming! Do you know, I had a mother too, — a princess, and imagine! a re — markably, a re — markably fat woman she was; but that is not what I was going to say, —— I — I feel a little weak, and —— Au revoir, my charming child — to-morrow — to-day — I will — I — I — Au revoir, au revoir!” Here the poor old fellow tried to kiss his hand, but slipped, and nearly fell over the threshold of the door.

“Take care, dear Prince — take care! lean on my arm!” cried Maria Alexandrovna.

“Charming, ch — arming!” he muttered, as he left the room. “I am only now le — learning to live!”

Zina was left alone.

A terrible oppression weighed down her heart. She felt a sensation of loathing which nearly suffocated her. She despised herself — her cheeks burned. With folded hands, and teeth biting hard into her lips, she stood in one spot, motionless. The tears of shame streamed from her eyes, —— and at this moment the door opened, and Paul Mosgliakoff entered the room!

CHAPTER IX.

He had heard all —
all
.

He did not actually enter the room, but stood at the door, pale with excitement and fury. Zina looked at him in amazement.

“So that’s the sort of person you are!” he cried panting. “At last I have found you out, have I?”

“Found me out?” repeated Zina, looking at him as though he were a madman. Suddenly her eyes flashed with rage. “How dare you address me like that?” she cried, advancing towards him.

“I have heard all!” said Mosgliakoff solemnly, but involuntarily taking a step backwards.

“You heard? I see — you have been eavesdropping!” cried Zina, looking at him with disdain.

“Yes, I have been eavesdropping! Yes — I consented to do a mean action, and my reward is that I have found out that you, too, are —— I don’t know how to express to you what I think you!” he replied, looking more and more timid under Zina’s eyes.

“And supposing that you
have
heard all: what right have you to blame me? What right have you to speak to me so insolently, in any case?”

“
I!
—
I?
what right have
I
? and
you
can ask me this? You are going to marry this prince, and I have no right to say a word! Why, you gave me your promise — is that nothing?”

“When?”

“How, when?”

“Did not I tell you that morning, when you came to me with your sentimental nonsense — did I not tell you that I could give you no decided answer?”

“But you did not reject me; you did not send me away. I see — you kept me hanging in reserve, in case of need! You lured me into your net! I see, I see it all!”

An expression of pain flitted over Zina’s careworn face, as though someone had suddenly stabbed her to the heart; but she mastered her feelings.

“If I didn’t turn you out of the house,” she began deliberately and very clearly, though her voice had a scarcely perceptible tremor in it, “I refrained from such a course purely out of pity. You begged me yourself to postpone, to give you time, not to say you ‘No,’ to study you better, and ‘then,’ you said, ‘then, when you know what a fine fellow I am, perhaps you will not refuse me!’ These were your own words, or very like them, at the very beginning of your courtship! — you cannot deny them! And now you dare to tell me that I ‘lured you into my net,’ just as though you did not notice my expression of loathing when you made your appearance this morning! You came a fortnight sooner than I expected you, and I did not hide my disgust; on the contrary, I made it evident — you must have noticed it — I know you did; because you asked me whether I was angry because you had come sooner than you promised! Let me tell you that people who do not, and do not
care
to, hide their loathing for a man can hardly be accused of luring that man into their net! You dare to tell me that I was keeping you in reserve! Very well; my answer to that is, that I judged of you like this: ‘Though he may not be endowed with much intellect, still he may turn out to be a good enough fellow; and if so, it might be possible to marry him.’ However, being persuaded, now, that you are a fool, and a
mischievous
fool into the bargain, — having found out this fact, to my great joy, — it only remains for me now to wish you every happiness and a pleasant journey. Good-bye!”

With these words Zina turned her back on him, and deliberately made for the door.

Mosgliakoff, seeing that all was lost, boiled over with fury.

“Oh! so I’m a fool!” he yelled; “I’m a fool, am I? Very well, good-bye! But before I go, the whole town shall know of this! They shall all hear how you and your mother made the old man drunk, and then swindled him! I shall let the whole world know it! You shall see what Mosgliakoff can do!”

Zina trembled and stopped, as though to answer; but on reflection, she contented herself by shrugging her shoulders; glanced contemptuously at Mosgliakoff, and left the room, banging the door after her.

At this moment Maria Alexandrovna made her appearance. She heard Mosgliakoff’s exclamation, and, divining at once what had happened, trembled with terror. Mosgliakoff still in the house, and near the prince! Mosgliakoff about to spread the news all over the town! At this moment, when secrecy, if only for a short time, was essential! But Maria Alexandrovna was quick at calculations: she thought, with an eagle flight of the mind, over all the circumstances of the case, and her plan for the pacification of Mosgliakoff was ready in an instant!

“What is it,
mon ami
?” she said, entering the room, and holding out her hand to him with friendly warmth.

“How—’
mon ami
?’ ” cried the enraged Mosgliakoff. “
Mon ami
, indeed! the moment after you have abused and reviled me like a pickpocket! No, no! Not quite so green, my good lady! I’m not to be so easily imposed upon again!”

“I am sorry, extremely sorry, to see you in such a
strange
condition of mind, Paul Alexandrovitch! What expressions you use! You do not take the trouble to choose your words before ladies — oh, fie!”

“Before ladies? Ho ho! You — you are — you are anything you like — but not a lady!” yelled Mosgliakoff.

I don’t quite know what he meant, but it was something very terrible, you may be sure!

Maria Alexandrovna looked benignly in his face:

“Sit down!” she said, sorrowfully, showing him a chair, the same that the old prince had reclined in a quarter of an hour before.

“But listen,
will
you listen, Maria Alexandrovna? You look at me just as though you were not the least to blame; in fact, as though
I
were the guilty party! Really, Maria Alexandrovna, this is a little
too
much of a good thing! No human being can stand that sort of thing, Maria Alexandrovna! You must be aware of that fact!”

“My dear friend,” replied Maria Alexandrovna— “you will allow me to continue to call you by that name, for you have no better friend than I am! — my friend, you are suffering — you are amazed and bewildered; your heart is sore, and therefore the tone of your remarks to me is perhaps not surprising. But I have made up my mind to open my heart to you, especially as I am, perhaps, in some degree to blame before you. Sit down; let us talk it over!”

Maria Alexandrovna’s voice was tender to a sickly extent. Her face showed the pain she was suffering. The amazed Mosgliakoff sat down beside her in the arm-chair.

“You hid somewhere, and listened, I suppose?” she began, looking reproachfully into his face.

“Yes I did, of course I did; and a good thing too! What a fool I should have looked if I hadn’t! At all events now I know what you have been plotting against me!” replied the injured man, rudely; encouraging and supporting himself by his own fury.

“And you — and you — with your principles, and with your bringing up, could condescend to such an action — Oh, oh!”

Mosgliakoff jumped up.

“Maria Alexandrovna, this is a little too much!” he cried. “Consider what
you
condescend to do, with
your
principles, and
then
judge of other people.”

“One more question,” she continued, without replying to his outburst: “who recommended you to be an eavesdropper; who told you anything; who is the spy here? That’s what I wish to know!”

“Oh, excuse me; that I shall
not
tell you!”

“Very well; I know already. I said, Paul, that I was in some degree to blame before you. But if you look into the matter you will find that if I am to blame it is solely in consequence of my anxiety to do you a good turn!”

“
What?
a good turn —
me
? No, no, madam! I assure you I am not to be caught again! I’m not quite such a fool!”

He moved so violently in his arm-chair that it shook again.

“Now, do be cool, if you can, my good friend. Listen to me attentively, and you will find that what I say is only the bare truth. In the first place I was anxious to inform you of all that has just taken place, in which case you would have learned everything, down to the smallest detail, without being obliged to descend to eavesdropping! If I did not tell you all before, it was simply because the whole matter was in an embryo condition in my mind. It was then quite possible that what
has
happened would never happen. You see, I am quite open with you.

“In the second place, do not blame my daughter. She loves you to distraction; and it was only by the exercise of my utmost influence that I persuaded her to drop you, and accept the prince’s offer.”

“I have just had the pleasure of receiving convincing proof of her ‘love to distraction!’ ” remarked Mosgliakoff, ironically and bitterly.

“Very well. But how did you speak to
her
? As a lover should speak? Again, ought
any
man of respectable position and tone to speak like that? You insulted and wounded her!”

“Never mind about my ‘tone’ now! All I can say is that this morning, when I went away with the prince, in spite of both of you having been as sweet as honey to me before, you reviled me behind my back like a pickpocket!
I
know all about it, you see!”