第28章

第28章“ah,howisit！i’vemixeditallup.therearesuchalotofrelativesinmoscow！youareboris…yes.well,now,wehavegotitclear.tellme,whatdoyouthinkoftheboulogneexpedition？thingswillgobadlywiththeenglish,youknow,ifnapoleongetsacrossthechannel.ibelievethattheexpeditionisverypossible.ifonlyvilleneuvedoesn’tmakeamessofit！”

borisknewnothingatallabouttheboulogneexpedition,anditwasthefirsttimehehadheardofvilleneuve.

“hereinmoscowwearemoreinterestedindinnerpartiesandscandalthaninpolitics,”hesaidinhisself-possessed,sarcastictone.“iknownothingandthinknothingaboutit.moscow’smoreengrossedinscandalthananything,”hewenton.“justnowtheyarealltalkingaboutyouandaboutthecount.”

pierresmiledhiskindlysmile,asthoughafraidforhiscompanion’ssakethathemightsaysomethinghewouldregret.butborisspokedistinctly,clearlyanddrily,lookingstraightintopierre’sface.

“there’snothingelsetodoinmoscowbuttalkscandal,”hewenton.“everyone’sabsorbedinthequestionwhomthecountwillleavehisfortuneto,thoughperhapshewilloutliveusall,asisincerelyhopehemay.”

“yes,allthat’sveryhorrid,”pierreinterposed,“veryhorrid.”pierrewasstillafraidthisofficerwouldinadvertentlydropintosomeremarkdisconcertingforhimself.

“anditmustseemtoyou,”saidboris,flushingslightly,butnotchanginghisvoiceorattitude,“itmustseemtoyouthateveryone’sthinkingofnothingbutgettingsomethingfromhim.”

“that’sjustit,”thoughtpierre.

“andthat’sjustwhatiwanttosaytoyoutopreventmisunderstandings,thatyouareverymuchmistakenifyoureckonmeandmymotheramongthosepeople.weareverypoor,buti—atleastispeakformyself—justbecauseyourfatherisrich,idon’tconsidermyselfarelationofhis,andneitherinormymotherwouldeveraskhimforanythingortakeanythingfromhim.”

itwasalongwhilebeforepierreunderstood,but,whenhedidunderstand,hejumpedupfromthesofa,seizedboris’shandwithhischaracteristicquicknessandawkwardness,andblushingfarmorethanboris,beganspeakingwithamixedsensationofshameandannoyance.

“well,thisisstrange！doyousupposei…howyoucouldthink…iknowverywell…”

butborisagaininterruptedhim.

“iamgladihavetoldyoueverythingfrankly.perhapsyoudislikeit：youmustexcuseme,”hesaid,tryingtoputpierreathiseaseinsteadofbeingputathiseasebyhim;“butihopeihavenotoffendedyou.imakeitaruletosayeverythingquiteplainly.…thenwhatmessageamitotake？youwillcometodinnerattherostovs’？”andboris,withanevidentsenseofhavingdischargedanonerousduty,havingextricatedhimselffromanawkwardposition,andputsomebodyelseintoonebecameperfectlypleasantagain.

“no,letmetellyou,”saidpierre,regaininghiscomposure,“youareawonderfulperson.whatyouhavejustsaidwasveryfine,veryfine.ofcourseyoudon’tknowme,it’ssolongsincewe’veseeneachother…wewerechildren.…youmightsupposeishould…iunderstand,iquiteunderstand.ishouldn’thavedoneit,ishouldn’thavehadthecourage,butit’ssplendid.i’mverygladihavemadeyouracquaintance.aqueeridea,”headded,pausingandsmiling,“youmusthavehadofme.”helaughed.“butwhatofit？letusknoweachotherbetter,please！”hepressedboris’shand.“doyouknowi’venotonceseenthecount？hehasnotsentforme…iamsorryforhim,asaman…butwhatcanonedo？”

“andsoyouthinknapoleonwilleedingettinghisarmyacross？”borisqueried,smiling.

pierresawthatboriswastryingtochangetheconversation,andsohebeganexplainingtheadvantagesanddifficultiesoftheboulogneexpedition.

afootmancameintosummonboristotheprincess.theprincesswasgoing.pierrepromisedtocometodinnerinordertoseemoreofboris,andpressedhishandwarmlyatparting,lookingaffectionatelyintohisfaceoverhisspectacles.

whenhehadgone,pierrewalkedforsometimelongerupanddownhisroom,notthrustingatanunseenfoe,butsmilingattherecollectionofthatcharming,intelligent,andresoluteyoungman.

assooftenhappenswithyoungpeople,especiallyiftheyareinapositionofloneliness,hefeltanunreasonabletendernessforthisyouth,andhefirmlyresolvedtobecomefriendswithhim.

princevassilyaccompaniedtheprincesstothehall.theprincesswasholdingherhandkerchieftohereyes,andherfacewastearful.

“itisterrible,terrible！”shesaid;“butwhateveritcostsme,iwilldomyduty.iwillcometostaythenight.hecan’tbeleftlikethis.everyminuteisprecious.ican’tunderstandwhyhisniecesputitoff.maybegodwillhelpmetofindawaytopreparehim.adieu,prince,maygodsupportyou…”

“adieu,mykindfriend,”answeredprincevassily,turningawayfromher.

“oh,heisinanawfulposition！”saidthemothertoherson,whentheyweresittinginthecarriageagain.“hescarcelyknowsanyone.”

“idon’tunderstand,mamma,whathisattitudeisasregardspierre.”

“thewillwillmakeallthatplain,mydear;ourfate,too,hangsuponit.…”

“butwhatmakesyouthinkhewillleaveusanything？”

“oh,mydear！heissorich,andwearesopoor.”

“well,that’shardlyasufficientreason,mamma.”

“oh,mygod,howillheis,howillheis！”criedhismother.