第12章

第12章therewastherustleofawoman’sdressinthenextroom.princeandreystartedup，asitwerepullinghimselftogether，andhisfaceassumedtheexpressionithadworninannapavlovna’sdrawing-room.pierredroppedhislegsdownoffthesofa.theprincesscamein.shehadchangedhergown，andwaswearingahousedressasfreshandelegantastheotherhadbeen.princeandreygotupandcourteouslysetachairforher.

“whyisit，ioftenwonder，”shebeganinfrenchasalways，whileshehurriedlyandfussilysettledherselfinthelowchair，“whyisitannettenevermarried？howstupidyougentlemenallarenottohavemarriedher.youmustexcuseme，butyoureallyhavenosenseaboutwomen.whatanargumentativepersonyouare，monsieurpierre！”

“i’mstillarguingwithyourhusband；ican’tmakeoutwhyhewantstogotothewar，”saidpierre，addressingtheprincesswithoutanyoftheaffectationsocommonintheattitudeofayoungmantoayoungwoman.

theprincessshivered.clearlypierre’swordstouchedatenderspot.

“ah，that’swhatisay，”shesaid.“ican’tunderstand，isimplycan’tunderstandwhymencan’tgetonwithoutwar.whyisitwewomenwantnothingofthesort？wedon’tcareforit.come，youshallbethejudge.ikeepsayingtohim：hereheisuncle’sadjutant，amostbrilliantposition.he’ssowellknown，soappreciatedbyeveryone.theotherdayattheapraxins’iheardaladyask：‘sothatisthefamousprinceandré？uponmyword！’”shelaughed.“he’saskedeverywhere.hecouldveryeasilybeaflugel-adjutant.youknowtheemperorhasspokenverygraciouslytohim.annetteandiweresayingitwouldbequiteeasytoarrangeit.whatdoyouthink？”

pierrelookedatprinceandrey，and，noticingthathisfrienddidnotlikethissubject，madenoreply.

“whenareyoustarting？”heasked.

“ah，don’ttalktomeaboutthatgoingaway；don’ttalkaboutit.iwon’tevenhearitspokenof，”saidtheprincessinjustthecapriciouslyplayfultoneinwhichshehadtalkedtoippolitatthesoirée，atoneutterlyincongruousinherownhomecircle，wherepierrewaslikeoneofthefamily.“thiseveningwhenithoughtalltheserelationssoprecioustomemustbebrokenoff.…andthen，youknow，andré？”shelookedsignificantlyatherhusband.“i’mafraid！i’mafraid！”shewhispered，twitchinghershoulder.herhusbandlookedatherasthoughheweresurprisedtoobservethattherewassomeoneintheroombesidehimselfandpierre，andwithfrigidcourtesyheaddressedaninquirytohiswife.

“whatareyouafraidof，liza？idon’tunderstand，”hesaid.

“seewhategoistsallmenare；theyareall，allegoists！ofhisownaccord，forhisownwhim，fornoreasonwhatever，heisdesertingme，shuttingmeupaloneinthecountry.”

“withmyfatherandsister，remember，”saidprinceandreyquietly.

“it’sjustthesameasalone，withoutmyfriends.…andhedoesn’texpectmetobeafraid.”hertonewasquerulousnow，herupperlipwaslifted，givingherfacenotajoyousexpression，butawild-animallook，likeasquirrel.shepausedasthoughfeelingitindecoroustospeakofherconditionbeforepierre，thoughthewholegistofthematterlayinthat.

“istilldon’tunderstandwhatyouareafraidof，”princeandreysaiddeliberately，nottakinghiseyesoffhiswife.theprincessflushedred，andwavedherhandsdespairingly.

“no，andré，isayyouaresochanged，sochanged…”

“yourdoctor’sorderswerethatyouweretogotobedearlier，”saidprinceandrey.“it’stimeyouwereasleep.”

theprincesssaidnothing，andsuddenlyhershort，downylipbegantoquiver；princeandreygotupandwalkedabouttheroom，inghisshoulders.

pierrelookedoverhisspectaclesinna？vewonderfromhimtotheprincess，andstirreduneasilyasthoughhetoomeanttogetup，buthadchangedhismind.

“whatdoicareifmonsieurpierreishere，”thelittleprincesssaidsuddenly，herprettyfacecontortedintoatearfulgrimace；“ihavelongwantedtosaytoyou，andrey，whyareyousochangedtome？whathaveidone？yougoawaytothewar，youdon’tfeelforme.whyisit？”

“liza！”wasallprinceandreysaid，butinthatonewordtherewasentreatyandmenace，and，mostofall，convictionthatshewouldherselfregretherwords；butshewentonhurriedly.

“youtreatmeasthoughiwereill，orachild.iseeitall.youweren’tlikethissixmonthsago.”

“liza，ibegyoutobesilent，”saidprinceandrey，stillmoreexpressively.

pierre，whohadbeengrowingmoreandmoreagitatedduringthisconversation，gotupandwenttotheprincess.heseemedunabletoendurethesightofhertears，andwasreadytoweephimself.

“pleasedon’tdistressyourself，princess.youonlyfancythatbecause…iassureyou，i’vefeltsomyself…because…through…oh，excuseme，anoutsiderhasnobusiness…oh，don’tdistressyourself…goodbye.”

princeandreyheldhishandandstoppedhim.

“no，stayalittle，pierre.theprincessissogood，shewouldnotwishtodeprivemeofthepleasureofspendinganeveningwithyou.”

“no，hethinksofnothingbuthimself，”theprincessdeclared，notattemptingtocheckhertearsofanger.

“liza，”saidprinceandreydrily，raisinghisvoicetoapitchthatshowedhispatiencewasexhausted.

allatoncetheangrysquirrelexpressionoftheprincess’slovelylittlefacechangedtoanattractivelookofterrorthatawakenedsympathy.sheglancedfromunderherbrowswithlovelyeyesatherhusband，andherfaceworethetimorous，deprecatinglookofadogwhenitfaintlybutrapidlywagsitstailinpenitence.

“mondieu！mondieu！”murmuredtheprincess，andholdinghergownwithonehand，shewenttoherhusbandandkissedhimontheforehead.

“good-night，liza，”saidprinceandrey，gettingupandkissingherhandcourteously，asthoughshewereastranger.

thefriendsweresilent.neitherofthembegantotalk.pierrelookedatprinceandrey；princeandreyrubbedhisforeheadwithhissmallhand.