第115章

第115章“anhourandahalfago,hecameinwheniwasasleep,wakedme,andintroducedhimself,”raskolnikovcontinued.“hewasfairlycheerfulandatease,andquitehopesthatweshallbecomefriends.heisparticularlyanxious,bytheway,dounia,foraninterviewwithyou,atwhichheaskedmetoassist.hehasapropositiontomaketoyou,andhetoldmeaboutit.hetoldme,too,thataweekbeforeherdeathmarfapetrovnaleftyouthreethousandroublesinherwill,dounia,andthatyoucanreceivethemoneyveryshortly.”

“thankgod!”criedpulcheriaalexandrovna,crossingherself.“prayforhersoul,dounia!”

“it’safact!”brokefromluzhin.

“tellus,whatmore?”douniaurgedraskolnikov.

“thenhesaidthathewasn’trichandalltheestatewaslefttohischildrenwhoarenowwithanaunt,thenthathewasstayingsomewherenotfarfromme,butwhere,idon’tknow,ididn’task.…”

“butwhat,whatdoeshewanttoproposetodounia?”criedpulcheriaalexandrovnainafright.“didhetellyou?”

“yes.”

“whatwasit?”

“i’lltellyouafterwards.”

raskolnikovceasedspeakingandturnedhisattentiontohistea.

pyotrpetrovitchlookedathiswatch.

“iamcompelledtokeepabusinessengagement,andsoishallnotbeinyourway,”headdedwithanairofsomepiqueandhebegangettingup.

“don’tgo,pyotrpetrovitch,”saiddounia,“youintendedtospendtheevening.besides,youwroteyourselfthatyouwantedtohaveanexplanationwithmother.”

“preciselyso,avdotyaromanovna,”pyotrpetrovitchansweredimpressively,sittingdownagain,butstillholdinghishat.“icertainlydesiredanexplanationwithyouandyourhonouredmotheruponaveryimportantpointindeed.butasyourbrothercannotspeakopenlyinmypresenceofsomeproposalsofmr.svidrigailov,i,too,donotdesireandamnotabletospeakopenly…inthepresenceofothers…ofcertainmattersofthegreatestgravity.moreover,mymostweightyandurgentrequesthasbeendisregarded.…”

assuminganaggrievedair,luzhinrelapsedintodignifiedsilence.

“yourrequestthatmybrothershouldnotbepresentatourmeetingwasdisregardedsolelyatmyinstance,”saiddounia.“youwrotethatyouhadbeeninsultedbymybrother;ithinkthatthismustbeexplainedatonce,andyoumustbereconciled.andifrodyareallyhasinsultedyou,thenheshouldandwillapologise.”

pyotrpetrovitchtookastrongerline.

“thereareinsults,avdotyaromanovna,whichnogoodwillcanmakeusforget.thereisalineineverythingwhichitisdangeroustooverstep;andwhenithasbeenoverstepped,thereisnoreturn.”

“thatwasn’twhatiwasspeakingofexactly,pyotrpetrovitch,”douniainterruptedwithsomeimpatience.“pleaseunderstandthatourwholefuturedependsnowonwhetherallthisisexplainedandsetrightassoonaspossible.itellyoufranklyatthestartthaticannotlookatitinanyotherlight,andifyouhavetheleastregardforme,allthisbusinessmustbeendedto-day,howeverhardthatmaybe.irepeatthatifmybrotheristoblamehewillaskyourforgiveness.”

“iamsurprisedatyourputtingthequestionlikethat,”saidluzhin,gettingmoreandmoreirritated.“esteeming,andsotosay,adoringyou,imayatthesametime,verywellindeed,beabletodislikesomememberofyourfamily.thoughilayclaimtothehappinessofyourhand,icannotacceptdutiesincompatiblewith…”

“ah,don’tbesoreadytotakeoffence,pyotrpetrovitch,”douniainterruptedwithfeeling,“andbethesensibleandgenerousmanihavealwaysconsidered,andwishtoconsider,youtobe.i’vegivenyouagreatpromise,iamyourbetrothed.trustmeinthismatterand,believeme,ishallbecapableofjudgingimpartially.myassumingthepartofjudgeisasmuchasurpriseformybrotherasforyou.wheniinsistedonhiscomingtoourinterviewto-dayafteryourletter,itoldhimnothingofwhatimeanttodo.understandthat,ifyouarenotreconciled,imustchoosebetweenyou—itmustbeeitheryouorhe.thatishowthequestionrestsonyoursideandonhis.idon’twanttobemistakeninmychoice,andimustnotbe.foryoursakeimustbreakoffwithmybrother,formybrother’ssakeimustbreakoffwithyou.icanfindoutforcertainnowwhetherheisabrothertome,andiwanttoknowit;andofyou,whetheriamdeartoyou,whetheryouesteemme,whetheryouarethehusbandforme.”

“avdotyaromanovna,”luzhindeclaredhuffily,“yourwordsareoftoomuchconsequencetome;iwillsaymore,theyareoffensiveinviewofthepositionihavethehonourtooccupyinrelationtoyou.tosaynothingofyourstrangeandoffensivesettingmeonalevelwithanimpertinentboy,youadmitthepossibilityofbreakingyourpromisetome.yousay‘youorhe,’showingtherebyofhowlittleconsequenceiaminyoureyes…icannotletthispassconsideringtherelationshipand…theobligationsexistingbetweenus.”

“what!”crieddounia,flushing.“isetyourinterestbesideallthathashithertobeenmostpreciousinmylife,whathasmadeupthewholeofmylife,andhereyouareoffendedatmymakingtoolittleaccountofyou.”

raskolnikovsmiledsarcastically,razumihinfidgeted,butpyotrpetrovitchdidnotacceptthereproof;onthecontrary,ateverywordhebecamemorepersistentandirritable,asthoughherelishedit.