第117章

第117章thelittleprincess，infact，livedatbleakhillsinastateofcontinualterroroftheoldprince，andhadanaversionforhim，ofwhichshewasherselfunconscious，socompletelydidterroroverbeareveryotherfeeling.therewasthesameaversionontheprince’sside，too；butinhiscaseitwasswallowedupincontempt.asshewentonstayingatbleakhills，thelittleprincessbecameparticularlyfondofmademoisellebourienne；shespentherdayswithher，edhertosleepinherroom，andoftentalkedofherfather-in-law，andcriticisedhimtoher.

“wehavecompanycoming，prince，”saidmademoisellebourienne，herrosyfingersunfoldingherdinner-napkin.“hisexcellencyprincekuraginwithhisson，asihaveheardsay？”shesaidinatoneofinquiry.

“h’m！…hisexcellenceisanupstart.igothimhisplaceinthecollege，”theoldprincesaidhuffily.“andwhathisson’scomingfor，ican’tmakeout.princesslizavetakarlovnaandprincessmaryacantellus，maybe；idon’tknowwhathe’sbringinghissonherefor.idon’twanthim.”andhelookedathisdaughter，whoturnedcrimson.

“unwell，eh？scaredoftheminister，asthatblockheadalpatitchcalledhimto-day？”

“non，monpère.”

essfulasmademoisellebouriennehadbeeninthesubjectshehadstarted，shedidnotdesist，butwentonprattlingawayabouttheconservatories，thebeautyofaflowerthathadjustopened，andafterthesouptheprincesubsided.

afterdinnerhewenttoseehisdaughter-in-law.thelittleprincesswassittingatalittletablegossipingwithmasha，hermaid.sheturnedpaleonseeingherfather-in-law.

thelittleprincesswasgreatlychanged.shelookeduglyratherthanprettynow.hercheeksweresunken，herlipwasdrawnup，andhereyeswerehollow.

“yes，asortofheaviness，”shesaidinanswertotheprince’sinquiryhowshefelt.

“isn’tthereanythingyouneed？”

“non，merci，monpère.”

“oh，verywellthen，verywell.”

hewentoutandintothewaiting-room.alpatitchwasstandingtherewithdowncasthead.

“filleduptheroadagain？”

“yes，yourexcellency；forgod’ssake，forgiveme，itwassimplyablunder.”

theprincecuthimshortwithhisunnaturallaugh.

“oh，verywell，verywell.”heheldouthishand，whichalpatitchkissed，andthenhewenttohisstudy.

intheeveningprincevassilyarrived.hewasmetonthewaybythecoachmenandfootmenofthebolkonskys，whowithshoutsedhiscarriagesandsledgetothelodge，overtheroad，whichhadbeenpurposelyobstructedwithsnowagain.

princevassilyandanatolewereconductedtoseparateapartments.

takingoffhistunic，anatolesatwithhiselbowsonthetable，onacornerofwhichhefixedhishandsome，largeeyeswithasmiling，unconcernedstare.allhislifehehadlookeduponasanuninterruptedentertainment，whichsomeoneorotherwas，hefelt，somehowboundtoprovideforhim.injustthesamespirithehadlookedathisvisittothecrossoldgentlemanandhisrichandhideousdaughter.itmightall，accordingtohisanticipations，turnoutveryjollyandamusing.“andwhynotgetmarried，ifshehassuchalotofmoney？thatnevercomesamiss，”thoughtanatole.

heshavedandscentedhimselfwiththecareandelegancethathadbecomehabitualwithhim，andwithhischaracteristicexpressionofall-conqueringgood-humour，hewalkedintohisfather’sroom，holding，hisheadhigh.twovaletswerebusilyengagedindressingprincevassily；hewaslookingabouthimeagerly，andnoddedgailytohisson，asheenteredwithanairthatsaid，“yes，that’sjusthowiwantedtoseeyoulooking.”

“come，jokingapart，father，isshesohideous？eh？”heaskedinfrench，asthoughrevertingtoasubjectmorethanoncediscussedonthejourney.

“nonsense！thegreatthingforyouistotryandberespectfulandsensiblewiththeoldprince.”

“ifhegetsnasty，i’moff，”saidanatole.“ican’tstandthoseoldgentlemen.eh？”

“rememberthatforyoueverythingdependsonit.”

meanwhile，inthefemininepartofthehouseholdnotonlythearrivaloftheministerandhissonwasalreadyknown，buttheappearanceofbothhadbeenminutelydescribed.princessmaryawassittingaloneinherroomdoingherutmosttocontrolherinneremotion.

“whydidtheywrite，whydidlizatellmeaboutit？why，itcannotbe！”shethought，lookingatherselfintheglass.“howamitogointothedrawing-room？evenifilikehim，icouldneverbemyselfwithhimnow.”themerethoughtofherfather’seyesreducedhertoterror.thelittleprincessandmademoisellebouriennehadalreadyobtainedallnecessaryinformationfromthemaid，masha；theyhadlearnedwhatahandsomefellowtheminister’ssonwas，withrosycheeksandblackeye-brows；howhispapahadedhislegsupstairswithdifficulty，whilehe，likeayoungeagle，hadflownupafterhimthreestepsatatime.onreceivingtheseitemsofinformation，thelittleprincessandmademoisellebourienne，whoseeagervoiceswereaudibleinthecorridor，wentintoprincessmarya’sroom.

“theyarecome，marie，doyouknow？”saidthelittleprincess，waddlinginandsinkingheavilyintoanarmchair.shewasnotwearingthegowninwhichshehadbeensittinginthemorning，buthadputononeofherbestdresses.herhairhadbeencarefullyarranged，andherfacewasfullofaneagerexcitement，whichdidnot，however，concealitswastedandpallidlook.inthesmartclotheswhichshehadbeenusedtowearinpetersburginsociety，thelossofhergoodlookswasevenmorenoticeable.mademoisellebourienne，too，hadputsomehardlyperceptiblefinishingtouchestohercostume，whichmadeherfresh，prettyfaceevenmoreattractive.

“what，andyouarestayingjustasyouare，dearprincess.theywillcomeinaminutetotellusthegentlemenareinthedrawing-room，”shebegan.“weshallhavetogodown，andyouaredoingnothingatalltoyourdress.”