almost every day?”
“So that is true, is it?” cried the prince, greatly agitated. “I hadheard a report of it, but would not believe it.”
“Whom did you hear it from?” asked Aglaya, alarmed. “Rogojin saidsomething about it yesterday, but nothing definite.”
“Yesterday! Morning or evening? Before the music or after?”
“After--it was about twelve o’clock.”
“Ah! Well, if it was Rogojin--but do you know what she writes to meabout?”
“I should not be surprised by anything. She is mad!”
“There are the letters.” (Aglaya took three letters out of her pocketand threw them down before the prince.) “For a whole week she has beenentreating and worrying and persuading me to marry you. She--well, sheis clever, though she may be mad--much cleverer than I am, as you say.Well, she writes that she is in love with me herself, and tries to seeme every day, if only from a distance. She writes that you love me,and that she has long known it and seen it, and that you and she talkedabout me--there. She wishes to see you happy, and she says that she iscertain only I can ensure you the happiness you deserve. She writes suchstrange, wild letters--I haven’t shown them to anyone. Now, do you knowwhat all this means? Can you guess anything?”
“It is madness--it is merely another proof of her insanity!” said theprince, and his lips trembled.
“You are crying, aren’t you?”
“No, Aglaya. No, I’m not crying.” The prince looked at her.
“Well, what am I to do? What do you advise me? I cannot go on receivingthese letters, you know.”
“Oh, let her alone, I entreat you!” cried the prince. “What can you do inthis dark, gloomy mystery? Let her alone, and I’ll use all my power toprevent her writing you any more letters.”
“If so, you are a heartless man!” cried Aglaya. “As if you can’t see thatit is not myself she loves, but you, you, and only you! Surely you havenot remarked everything else in her, and only not _this?_ Do you know whatthese letters mean? They mean jealousy, sir--nothing but pure jealousy!She--do you think she will ever really marry this Rogojin, as she sayshere she will? She would take her own life the day after you and I weremarried.”
The prince shuddered; his heart seemed to freeze within him. He gazedat Aglaya in wonderment; it was difficult for him to realize that thischild was also a woman.
“God knows, Aglaya, that to restore her peace of mind and make her happyI would willingly give up my life. But I cannot love her, and she knowsthat.”
“Oh, make a sacrifice of yourself! That sort of thing becomes you well,you know. Why not do it? And don’t call me ‘Aglaya’; you have done itseveral times lately. You are bound, it is your _duty_ to ‘raise’ her; youmust go off somewhere again to soothe and pacify her. Why, you love her,you know!”
“I cannot sacrifice myself so, though I admit I did wish to do so once.Who knows, perhaps I still wish to! But I know for _certain_, that if shemarried me it would be her ruin; I know this and therefore I leave heralone. I ought to go to see her today; now I shall probably not go. Sheis proud, she would never forgive me the nature of the love I bear her,and we should both be ruined. This may be unnatural, I don’t know; buteverything seems unnatural. You say she loves me, as if this were _love!_As if she could love _me_, after what I have been through! No, no, it isnot love.”
“How pale you have grown!” cried Aglaya in alarm.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I haven’t slept, that’s all, and I’m rather tired.I--we certainly did talk about you, Aglaya.”
“Oh, indeed, it is true then! _You could actually talk about me with her_;and--and how could you have been fond of me when you had only seen meonce?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps it was that I seemed to come upon light in themidst of my gloom. I told you the truth when I said I did not know why Ithought of you before all others. Of course it was all a sort of dream,a dream amidst the horrors of reality. Afterwards I began to work. I didnot intend to come back here for two or three years--”
“Then you came for her sake?” Aglaya’s voice trembled.
“Yes, I came for her sake.”
There was a moment or two of gloomy silence. Aglaya rose from her seat.
“If you say,” she began in shaky tones, “if you say that this womanof yours is mad--at all events I have nothing to do with her insanefancies. Kindly take these three letters, Lef Nicolaievitch, and throwthem back to her, from me. And if she dares,” cried Aglaya suddenly,much louder than before, “if she dares so much as write me one wordagain, tell her I shall tell my father, and that she shall be taken to alunatic asylum.”
The prince jumped up in alarm at Aglaya’s sudden wrath, and a mistseemed to come before his eyes.
“You cannot really feel like that! You don’t mean what you say. It isnot true,” he murmured.
“It _is_ true, it _is_ true,” cried Aglaya, almost beside herselfwith rage.
“What’s true? What’s all this? What’s true?” said an alarmed voice justbeside them.
Before them stood Lizabetha Prokofievna.
“Why, it’s true that I am going to marry Gavrila Ardalionovitch, that Ilove him and intend to elope with him tomorrow,” cried Aglaya, turningupon her mother. “Do you hear? Is your curiosity satisfied? Are youpleased with what you have heard?”
Aglaya rushed away homewards with these words.
“H’m! well, _you_ are not going away just yet, my friend, at all events,” said Lizabetha, stopping the prince. “Kindly step home with me, and letme have a little explanation of the mystery. Nice goings on, these! Ihaven’t slept a wink all night as it is.”
The prince followed her.
IX.
Arrived at her house, Lizabetha Prokofievna paused in the first room.She could go no farther, and subsided on to a couch quite exhausted; toofeeble to remember so much as to ask the prince to take a seat. This wasa large reception-room, full of flowers, and with a glass door leadinginto the garden.
Alexandra and Adelaida came in almost immediately, and lookedinquiringly at the prince and their mother.
The girls generally rose at about nine in the morning in the country;Aglaya, of late, had been in the habit of getting up rather earlier andhaving a walk in the garden, but not at seven o’clock; about eight or alittle later was her usual time.
Lizabetha Prokofievna, who really had not slept all night, rose at abouteight on purpose to meet Aglaya in the garden and walk with her; but shecould not find her either in the garden or in her own room.
This agitated the old lady considerably; and she awoke her otherdaughters. Next, she learned from the maid that Aglaya had gone intothe park before seven o’clock. The sisters made a joke of Aglaya’s lastfreak, and told their mother that if she went into the park to lookfor her, Aglaya would probably be very angry with her, and that she waspretty sure to be sitting reading on the green bench that she had talkedof two or three days since, and about which she had nearly quarrelledwith Prince S., who did not see anything particularly lovely in it.
Arrived at the rendezvous of the prince and her daughter, and hearingthe strange words of the latter, Lizabetha Prokofievna had beendreadfully alarmed, for many reasons. However, now that she had draggedthe prince home with her, she began to feel a little frightened at whatshe had undertaken. Why should not Aglaya meet the prince in thepark and have a talk with him, even if such a meeting should be byappointment?
“Don’t suppose, prince,” she began, bracing herself up for the effort,“don’t suppose that I have brought you here to ask questions. After lastnight, I assure you, I am not so exceedingly anxious to see you at all;I could have postponed the pleasure for a long while.” She paused.
“But at the same time you would be very glad to know how I happened tomeet Aglaya Ivanovna this morning?” The prince finished her speech forher with the utmost composure.
“Well, what then? Supposing I should like to know?” cried LizabethaProkofievna, blushing. “I’m sure I am not afraid of plain sp
eaking. I’mnot offending anyone, and I never wish to, and--”
“Pardon me, it is no offence to wish to know this; you are hermother. We met at the green bench this morning, punctually at seveno’clock,--according to an agreement made by Aglaya Ivanovna with myselfyesterday. She said that she wished to see me and speak to me aboutsomething important. We met and conversed for an hour about mattersconcerning Aglaya Ivanovna herself, and that’s all.”
“Of course it is all, my friend. I don’t doubt you for a moment,” saidLizabetha Prokofievna with dignity.
“Well done, prince, capital!” cried Aglaya, who entered the room atthis moment. “Thank you for assuming that I would not demean myselfwith lies. Come, is that enough, mamma, or do you intend to put any morequestions?”
“You know I have never needed to blush before you, up to this day,though perhaps you would have been glad enough to make me,” saidLizabetha Prokofievna,--with majesty. “Good-bye, prince; forgive me forbothering you. I trust you will rest assured of my unalterable esteemfor you.”
The prince made his bows and retired at once. Alexandra and Adelaidasmiled and whispered to each other, while