第92章

第92章“no,no,nonsense!it’snothing.alittlegiddiness—notfainting.youhavefaintingonthebrain.h’m,yes,whatwasisaying?oh,yes.inwhatwaywillyougetconvincingproofto-daythatyoucanrespecthim,andthathe…esteemsyou,asyousaid.ithinkyousaidto-day?”

“mother,showrodyapyotrpetrovitch’sletter,”saiddounia.

withtremblinghands,pulcheriaalexandrovnagavehimtheletter.hetookitwithgreatinterest,but,beforeopeningit,hesuddenlylookedwithasortofwonderatdounia.

“itisstrange,”hesaid,slowly,asthoughstruckbyanewidea.“whatamimakingsuchafussfor?whatisitallabout?marrywhomyoulike!”

hesaidthisasthoughtohimself,butsaiditaloud,andlookedforsometimeathissister,asthoughpuzzled.heopenedtheletteratlast,stillwiththesamelookofstrangewonderonhisface.then,slowlyandattentively,hebeganreading,andreaditthroughtwice.pulcheriaalexandrovnashowedmarkedanxiety,andallindeedexpectedsomethingparticular.

“whatsurprisesme,”hebegan,afterashortpause,handingthelettertohismother,butnotaddressinganyoneinparticular,“isthatheisabusinessman,alawyer,andhisconversationispretentiousindeed,andyethewritessuchanuneducatedletter.”

theyallstarted.theyhadexpectedsomethingquitedifferent.

“buttheyallwritelikethat,youknow,”razumihinobserved,abruptly.

“haveyoureadit?”

“yes.”

“weshowedhim,rodya.we…consultedhimjustnow,”pulcheriaalexandrovnabegan,embarrassed.

“that’sjustthejargonofthecourts,”razumihinputin.“legaldocumentsarewrittenlikethattothisday.”

“legal?yes,it’sjustlegal—businesslanguage—notsoveryuneducated,andnotquiteeducated—businesslanguage!”

“pyotrpetrovitchmakesnosecretofthefactthathehadacheapeducation,heisproudindeedofhavingmadehisownway,”avdotyaromanovnaobserved,somewhatoffendedbyherbrother’stone.

“well,ifhe’sproudofit,hehasreason,idon’tdenyit.youseemtobeoffended,sister,atmymakingonlysuchafrivolouscriticismontheletter,andtothinkthatispeakofsuchtriflingmattersonpurposetoannoyyou.itisquitethecontrary,anobservationaproposofthestyleoccurredtomethatisbynomeansirrelevantasthingsstand.thereisoneexpression,‘blameyourselves’putinverysignificantlyandplainly,andthereisbesidesathreatthathewillgoawayatonceifiampresent.thatthreattogoawayisequivalenttoathreattoabandonyoubothifyouaredisobedient,andtoabandonyounowaftersummoningyoutopetersburg.well,whatdoyouthink?canoneresentsuchanexpressionfromluzhin,asweshouldifhe(hepointedtorazumihin)hadwrittenit,orzossimov,oroneofus?”

“n-no,”answereddounia,withmoreanimation.“isawclearlythatitwastoonaivelyexpressed,andthatperhapshesimplyhasnoskillinwriting…thatisatruecriticism,brother.ididnotexpect,indeed…”

“itisexpressedinlegalstyle,andsoundscoarserthanperhapsheintended.butimustdisillusionyoualittle.thereisoneexpressionintheletter,oneslanderaboutme,andratheracontemptibleone.igavethemoneylastnighttothewidow,awomaninconsumption,crushedwithtrouble,andnot‘onthepretextofthefuneral,’butsimplytopayforthefuneral,andnottothedaughter—ayoungwoman,ashewrites,ofnotoriousbehaviour(whomisawlastnightforthefirsttimeinmylife)—buttothewidow.inallthisiseeatoohastydesiretoslandermeandtoraisedissensionbetweenus.itisexpressedagaininlegaljargon,thatistosay,withatooobviousdisplayoftheaim,andwithaverynaiveeagerness.heisamanofintelligence,buttoactsensibly,intelligenceisnotenough.itallshowsthemanand…idon’tthinkhehasagreatesteemforyou.itellyouthissimplytowarnyou,becauseisincerelywishforyourgood…”

douniadidnotreply.herresolutionhadbeentaken.shewasonlyawaitingtheevening.

“thenwhatisyourdecision,rodya?”askedpulcheriaalexandrovna,whowasmoreuneasythaneveratthesudden,newbusinessliketoneofhistalk.

“whatdecision?”

“youseepyotrpetrovitchwritesthatyouarenottobewithusthisevening,andthathewillgoawayifyoucome.sowillyou…come?”

“that,ofcourse,isnotformetodecide,butforyoufirst,ifyouarenotoffendedbysucharequest;andsecondly,bydounia,ifshe,too,isnotoffended.iwilldowhatyouthinkbest,”headded,drily.

“douniahasalreadydecided,andifullyagreewithher,”pulcheriaalexandrovnahastenedtodeclare.

“idecidedtoaskyou,rodya,tourgeyounottofailtobewithusatthisinterview,”saiddounia.“willyoucome?”

“yes.”

“iwillaskyou,too,tobewithusateighto’clock,”shesaid,addressingrazumihin.“mother,iaminvitinghim,too.”

“quiteright,dounia.well,sinceyouhavedecided,”addedpulcheriaalexandrovna,“sobeit.ishallfeeleasiermyself.idonotlikeconcealmentanddeception.betterletushavethewholetruth.…pyotrpetrovitchmaybeangryornot,now!”