| “Why, what have you done? I don’t understand you.” |
| It so happened, however, that on this particular evening all these good people were in excellent humour and highly pleased with themselves. Every one of them felt that they were doing the Epanchins the greatest possible honour by their presence. But alas! the prince never suspected any such subtleties! For instance, he had no suspicion of the fact that the Epanchins, having in their mind so important a step as the marriage of their daughter, would never think of presuming to take it without having previously “shown off” the proposed husband to the dignitary--the recognized patron of the family. The latter, too, though he would probably have received news of a great disaster to the Epanchin family with perfect composure, would nevertheless have considered it a personal offence if they had dared to marry their daughter without his advice, or we might almost say, his leave. |
“But this is intolerable!” cried the visitors, some of them starting to their feet.
| XI. |
“Prince Lef Nicolaievitch Muishkin,” replied the latter, with perfect readiness.
Neither one nor the other seemed to give expression to her full thoughts.
Colia was a nice-looking boy. His expression was simple and confiding, and his manners were very polite and engaging.| “I was there,” said Rogojin, unexpectedly. “Come along.” The prince was surprised at this answer; but his astonishment increased a couple of minutes afterwards, when he began to consider it. Having thought it over, he glanced at Rogojin in alarm. The latter was striding along a yard or so ahead, looking straight in front of him, and mechanically making way for anyone he met. |
“Yes, I did; I am thinking of it.”
“What do _you_ know about our faces?” exclaimed the other two, in chorus.
| “Come along,” he whispered. |
| “Prince,” asked Nina Alexandrovna, “I wanted to inquire whether you have known my son long? I think he said that you had only arrived today from somewhere.” |
| “No, no I--I--no!” said Gania, bringing out his lie with a tell-tale blush of shame. He glanced keenly at Aglaya, who was sitting some way off, and dropped his eyes immediately. |
Alexandra and Adelaida came in almost immediately, and looked inquiringly at the prince and their mother.
The prince questioned him in detail as to his hints about Rogojin. He was anxious to seize upon some facts which might confirm Hippolyte’s vague warnings; but there were none; only Hippolyte’s own private impressions and feelings.
Evgenie Pavlovitch left the house with strange convictions. He, too, felt that the prince must be out of his mind.
In spite of the kindly-meant consolations of his new friends, the prince walked to his hotel in inexpressible anguish of spirit, through the hot, dusty streets, aimlessly staring at the faces of those who passed him. Arrived at his destination, he determined to rest awhile in his room before he started for Rogojin’s once more. He sat down, rested his elbows on the table and his head on his hands, and fell to thinking.
| He sat down with these words, evidently intending to prolong his visit. |
“Cold?”
| “Yes, here in my chest. I received them at the siege of Kars, and I feel them in bad weather now. And as to the third of our trio, Epanchin, of course after that little affair with the poodle in the railway carriage, it was all _up_ between us.” |
He seemed to have been born with overwrought nerves, and in his passionate desire to excel, he was often led to the brink of some rash step; and yet, having resolved upon such a step, when the moment arrived, he invariably proved too sensible to take it. He was ready, in the same way, to do a base action in order to obtain his wished-for object; and yet, when the moment came to do it, he found that he was too honest for any great baseness. (Not that he objected to acts of petty meanness--he was always ready for _them_.) He looked with hate and loathing on the poverty and downfall of his family, and treated his mother with haughty contempt, although he knew that his whole future depended on her character and reputation.
“Seriously? Then are you a coward?”
“Not at all!” said the prince, blushing. “I was only going to say that you--not that you could not be like Gleboff--but that you would have been more like--”
| “Never mind, mamma! Prince, I wish you had seen an execution,” said Aglaya. “I should like to ask you a question about that, if you had.” |
| She did not finish her indefinite sentence; she restrained herself in a moment; but it was enough. |
“Ah, you want to arouse our curiosity!” said Aglaya. “And how terribly solemn you are about it!”
“Oh, I only judge by what I see. Varvara Ardalionovna said just now--”
| At about half-past seven the prince started for the church in his carriage. |
“I came here to warn you,” he said. “In the first place, don’t lend me any money, for I shall certainly ask you to.”
| The prince handed her the album. |
| Rogojin listened to the end, and then burst out laughing: |
| The reason for their anxiety soon became apparent. From that very side entrance to the Vauxhall, near which the prince and all the Epanchin party were seated, there suddenly appeared quite a large knot of persons, at least a dozen. |