第193章

第193章“well,whatwouldyouhave,then？youareallinlove,itseems,nowadays.oh,well,ifyou’reinlovewithhim,bettermarryhim,”saidthecountess,laughingangrily,“andgodblessyou.”

“no,mamma,i’mnotinlovewithhim.isupposei’mnotinlovewithhim.”

“well,then,tellhimso.”

“mamma,areyoucross？don’tbecross,darling;it’snotmyfault,isit？”

“no,butuponmyword,mydear,ifyoulike,iwillgoandtellhimso,”saidthecountess,smiling.

“no,i’lldoitmyself;onlytellmehowtosayit.everythingcomeseasytoyou,”sheadded,respondingtohersmile.“andifyoucouldhaveseenhowhesaidittome！iknowhedidnotmeantosayit,butsaiditbyaccident.”

“well,anywayyoumustrefusehim.”

“no,imustn’t.ifeelsosorryforhim！he’ssonice.”

“oh,well,accepthisproposal,then.hightimeyouweremarried,isuppose,”saidhermotherangrilyandironically.

“no,mamma,buti’msosorryforhim.idon’tknowhowtosayit.”

“well,there’snoneedforyoutosayanything.i’llspeaktohimmyself,”saidthecountess,indignantthatanyoneshouldhavedaredtotreatthislittlenatashaasgrownup.

“no,notonanyaccount;i’llgomyself,andyoulistenatthedoor,”—andnatasharanacrossthedrawing-roomtothehall,wheredenisov,hisfaceinhishands,wasstillsittinginthesamechairattheclavichord.hejumpedupatthesoundofherlightfootsteps.

“natalie,”hesaid,movingwithrapidstepstowardsher,“decidemyfate.itisinyourhands！”

“vassilydmitritch,i’msosorryforyou！…no,butyouaresonice…butitwon’tdo…that…butishallalwaysloveyouasidonow.”

denisovbentoverher,andsheheardstrangesoundsthatshedidnotunderstand.shekissedhistangledcurlyblackhead.atthatmomenttheyheardthehurriedrustleofthecountess’sskirts.shecameuptothem.

“vassilydmitritch,ithankyouforthehonouryoudous,”saidthecountess,inanembarrassedvoice,whichsoundedseveretodenisov,“butmydaughterissoyoung,andishouldhavethoughtthatasmyson’sfriendyouwouldhavecomefirsttome.inthatcaseyouwouldnothaveforcedmetomakethisrefusal.”

“countess！…”saiddenisov,withdowncasteyesandaguiltyface;hetriedtosaymore,andstammered.

natashacouldnotseehiminsuchapiteousplightwithoutemotion.shebegantowhimperloudly.

“countess,ihaveactedwrongly,”denisovwentoninabreakingvoice,“butbelieveme,isoadoreyourdaughterandallyourfamilythati’dgivemylifetwiceover…”helookedatthecountessandnoticedhersternface.…“well,good-bye,countess,”hesaid,kissingherhand,andwithoutglancingatnatashahewalkedwithrapidandresolutestepsoutoftheroom.

nextdayrostovsawdenisovoff,ashewasunwillingtoremainanotherdayinmoscow.allhismoscowfriendsgavehimafarewellentertainmentatthegypsies’,andhehadnorecollectionofhowtheygothimintohissledge,orofthefirstthreestationshepassed.

afterdenisov’sdeparturerostovspentanotherfortnightinmoscow,waitingforthemoneytopayhisdebt,whichthecountwasunabletoraiseallatonce.hehardlyleftthehouse,andspentmostofhistimeintheyounggirls’room.

sonyawasmoreaffectionateanddevotedtohimthenever.sheseemedtowanttoshowhimthathislossatcardswasanexploitforwhichshelovedhimmorethanever.butnownikolayregardedhimselfasunworthyofher.

hecopiedmusicforthegirls,andwroteversesintheiralbums,andafteratlastsendingoffalltheforty-threethousandroubles,andreceivingdolohov’sreceiptforit,heleftmoscowtowardstheendofnovemberwithouttakingleaveofanyofhisacquaintances,andovertookhisregiment,whichwasalreadyinpoland.