Chapter 14 eleven

The Duke left the drawing-room, went into his own room, and closed the door.Kolya immediately ran to see him and comforted him.The poor child, it seemed, could not do without him now. "It's good that you're gone," he said. "It's sure to be even more chaotic over there now than it was before. Our house is like that every day, and it's all because of Nastasya Filippovna." "There are so many things going on in your family, Kolya," said the prince. "Yes, there are endless ones. There is no need to talk about our family's affairs. They are all sins of our own making. But I have a good friend who is even more unfortunate. Let me let you get to know each other, will you?"

"Very willing. Is it your classmate?" "Yes, almost a classmate. I'll explain all this to you later... I think Nastasya Filippovna is very pretty. What do you think? I've never seen her before, but I'd love to see her." To her. She is dazzlingly beautiful. If Ganya really loves her, I can forgive him all. Why does he want people's money, it's too bad!" "No, I don't like your brother very much." "Well, it goes without saying! After what happened, how could you... You know, I hate all kinds of opinions. For example, there is such a madman, or a bastard, a villain, and a hair Crazy to slap someone in the face, this person will be shameless for the rest of his life, and the stain can only be washed away with blood, or people will kneel down to him and beg for mercy. In my opinion, this is not only absurd, but also overbearing. Lemon That's the subject of Tove's play, and I think it's rather muddled. I mean, it's a little unnatural. Then again, he wrote the play almost in his childhood."

"I like your sister very much." "She dared to spit in Ganka's face. How brave this Varka is! You didn't spit on him like that, I believe, not because you lacked courage. Look, the man didn't even mention her , and she came. I knew she would. She is a noble person, with all her faults." "You don't have to stay here," Varya said to him as soon as she came in, "go to papa. He doesn't displease you, prince?" "Not at all, I like him very much." "Sister, you're here again! She's just so annoying. By the way, I expected that my father would go with Rogozhin, and I'm probably regretting it now. I have to go and see how he really is." Corley When Ya went out, he added another sentence.

"Thank God, I took Ma out and put her to bed, and the old problem was fine. Ganya was very embarrassed and worried. It's time for him to think about it. What a lesson! . . . I'm here I thank you again, and I want to ask you, Prince: Did you know Nastasya Filippovna before?" "No, I don't know." "Then why do you say to her face that she 'wasn't like that'? Besides, you seem to have guessed right. Maybe she really isn't like that. But I can't figure her out! Of course, she did it on purpose." It's annoying, that's clear. I've heard many strange things about her before. If she really came to invite us to the party, how could she treat mother like that in the first place? Ptitsyn knew her well, even he said , I couldn’t figure out what she was going to do just now. And to Rogozhin? If a person respects himself, in his future...in-law’s family, he can’t talk like that. My mother is also very disturbed by you. "

"Never mind," said the Duke, waving his hand. "How could she listen to you..." "Listen to me?" "You told her she should be ashamed, and she suddenly changed completely. You have power over her, prince," added Varya, smiling. The door opened and Ganya entered quite unexpectedly. When he saw Varya, he didn't hesitate.He stood at the door for a moment, then suddenly walked resolutely up to the prince. "Prince, I have behaved vilely, and please forgive me, my good brother," he said suddenly, with great emotion, and the pain was evident in his face.The Duke looked at him in surprise, but did not answer immediately. "Oh, please forgive me, forgive me!" Ganya begged eagerly, "well, if you like, I will come and kiss your hand!"

The prince was very surprised, and silently stretched out his arms and embraced Ganya.The two kiss each other sincerely. "I never, never thought you would be like this," said the prince, almost breathless with emotion, but at last he said, "I thought you...wouldn't be." "Aren't you coming to apologize?... How did I think you were an idiot just now! You can see things that others will never see. We can talk to you, but... it's better not to talk!" "There is another person here, to whom you must apologize," said the prince, pointing to Varya.

"No, they will always be my enemies. Believe me, Prince, after many attempts, they will never really forgive!" Ganya blurted out, and turning his head away from Varya. "No, I forgive you!" Varya said suddenly. "Are you going to Nastasya Filippovna's tonight too?" "If you let me go, I will definitely go, but you'd better think about it first: Is it appropriate for me to go now?" "You know, she's not that kind of woman. She wants us to guess riddles on purpose! Be careful!" Ganya smiled wryly. "I know she's not like that, too, and she's narrow-minded, but what's she thinking? Besides, look, Ganya, what does she take you for? Even though she kissed mother's hand. Despite this It's narrow-minded, but she's laughing at you after all, and it's worth more than seventy-five thousand, really, brother! Your nature is good, and you can turn back when you go astray, so I tell you this. Alas, you And don't go! Oh, be careful! It won't end well!" Varya was very excited, and hurried out of the room after saying this.

"They're always like that!" Ganya laughed. "Don't they think I don't know this? I know much better than they do." After all, Ganya sat down on the sofa, obviously wanting to continue the visit. "Since you know that," asked the duke timidly, "if you know that this foreign crime is worth more than seventy-five thousand dollars, why ask for it?" "That's not what I'm talking about," Ganya murmured, "Okay, I'll ask for advice by the way, I really want to hear your opinion, do you think it's worth suffering such a 'foreign crime' for taking 75,000 yuan? ?”

"I don't think it's worth it." "I know it if you don't tell me. Is it shameful to be married like this?" "It's shameful." "Then, let me tell you, I am determined to marry her, and I must marry her. I hesitated just now, but I don't hesitate now! Don't say anything! I know what you want to say..." "What I'm about to say is not what you think. What astonishes me is your absolute self-confidence..." "Confidence in what? What confidence?" "You are confident, first, that Nastasya Filippovna will marry you with absolute certainty; and second, that even if she does marry you, you think that the seventy-five thousand dollars will surely fall directly to you. pockets. Of course, then again, there's a lot here that I don't know."

Ganya twisted his body vigorously and leaned towards the Duke. "Of course you don't know the whole situation," he said. "Why should I carry such a heavy burden?" "I think it happens quite often that a man marries money, but the money remains in the wife's hands." "No, we will never do this...here...there are some situations here..." Ganya muttered in horrified thought, "as for her answer, there is no doubt about it," he continued Quickly added, "Why do you say she will reject me?" "I don't know anything except what I saw. Didn't Varvara Ardalionovna just say..."

"Ah! They didn't know what they were saying. She was making fun of Rogozhin. Believe me, I saw that very clearly. I could see it. I was a little afraid before, but now I see clearly." Yes. Perhaps you are saying this from her attitude towards my mother, my father, and Varvara?" "And the attitude towards you." "Maybe. But this is nothing more than an act of revenge by an old woman. This is a very angry, suspicious, and self-respecting woman. She looks like an official who has failed in her career and has never been an official. She wants to express herself, she wants to express herself." All her contempt for them... and of course for me. It's true, I don't deny it... But she will marry me anyway. You can't imagine what a man's pride can do, For example, she thinks I'm obscene because she's someone else's concubine, and I openly marry her because she's rich, but she doesn't know that the way to deceive her will be even more despicable and indecent: He would beg her for nothing, talk to her about liberalism and progress, and bring up all kinds of women's issues to confuse the public, so she was like a thread, threaded into him. Needle's eye, fell for him. He would also assure this stupid woman with a lot of self-respect (and she would easily believe it) that he only married her because she was 'good-hearted and unhappy', but in the end, he I married her because I thought she was rich. I was unpopular because I didn't want to play tricks. In fact, it should be like this. And what is she doing? Isn't it exactly the same? If so, why look down on others , came up with these tricks? It’s just because I don’t agree with her, I’m also very proud. Well, just wait and see!” "Did you love her before that?" "Loved at first. Well, don't mention it. . . . There is a kind of woman who is only fit to be a mistress and nothing else. I don't mean that she was my mistress. If she will live properly, I'll live my life with her, and if she wants to rebel, I'll dump her and take the money with me. I don't want to be ridiculed, and the last thing I want to do is to be ridiculed." "It always seemed to me," the prince pointed out cautiously, "that Nastasya Filippovna is very clever. Why did she jump into the fire if she foresaw what she was going to suffer? Couldn't she marry someone else?" Is that what I find strange." "Naturally she has her own plans! You don't know the secret, duke... There is a secret in it... Besides, she firmly believes that I love her madly, I swear to you, do you know, I suspect her She loves me too, but in a different way, as the saying goes, 'Beating hurts, scolding love'. She will think I'm a mean person all her life (probably that's what she needs), but she will use herself after all She loves me in the same way; she has such an education and such a character. To tell you the truth, she is a perfect Russian woman. Well, I have prepared for her a gift that she did not expect. Just now The scene with Varya happened by accident, but it was good for me: she sees it now and is convinced that I am so attached to her, so devoted to her, that I will sever all ties for her sake. In this way, we are not fools, please believe me. By the way, you don't think I am a nagging person? My dear Duke, to tell you the truth, perhaps, I have behaved very badly, but that It's also because you're the first noble person I've ever met that's why I'm jumping at you, but please don't take the word 'pushing' as a pun. You wouldn't have happened because of what just happened Am I angry? Huh? This is probably the first time in two years that I have spoken to anyone. There are so few honest men here, there is no one more innocent than Ptitsyn. Why, you seem to be laughing, Isn't it? A mean man prefers an honest man—you probably don't know why. But I... Then again, tell me in good conscience, why am I mean? Why do they all call me mean, just like her? Call me an asshole? Do you know that I followed their example and started to call myself a despicable person! If it is despicable, then it is despicable!" "Now I don't think of you as a scumbag any more," said the prince. "I thought of you as a complete villain just now, and now I am so glad that you impress me—that's the lesson." : Don't judge without investigating. Now I see that not only can you not be regarded as a bad guy, but you can't be regarded as too bad a person. In my opinion, you are just a very ordinary person among the crowd. Besides being too weak and featureless." Ganya smiled wryly, but didn't make a sound.The duke was ashamed to see that his opinion was unpopular, and shut up too. "Has my father ever borrowed money from you?" Ganya asked suddenly. "No." "I'll borrow it, don't lend it to him. As I remember, he was a respectable man in the past, and he often went to the upper class. These old respectable people are soon finished one by one. When there is a change in the outside world, everything in the past will disappear. Burnt out like gunpowder. He didn't talk nonsense, I can assure you. He was just impulsive,--look what it's like now! Of course, it's all drinking. Did you know he had a concubine! He's not just a naive old man talking nonsense now. I don't understand how my mother put up with his nonsense for so long. He told you about the siege of Kars Stories? Or how he had a gray horse with a bridle that spoke human language? See, even to the point of rambling." After Ganya finished speaking, he laughed suddenly. "Why do you look at me like that?" he asked the prince. "I wonder that you can laugh so sincerely. Really, you can laugh like a child. Just now, when you came in and made up with me, you said 'I can kiss your hand if you want'— It's exactly the same as children make peace. From this, you still have a child's heart, because you can still say such words and do such gestures. But you will suddenly talk about such vile and dirty things. and the seventy-five thousand rubles. Really, it all seems both absurd and unbelievable." "What conclusion do you want to draw from this?" "My conclusion is that you have acted too rashly, and should you think twice? Varvara Ardalionovna may have a point in what she said." "Ah, great reason again! I know what I'm still a child," Ganya interrupted enthusiastically, "you can get a glimpse of it just by telling you this. Duke, I am willing to do such vile and dirty things, not for any gain," he blurted out, like a young man whose pride has been hurt, "if I want to gain anything, I must have miscalculated, Because my brain is not flexible enough, and my character is not strong enough. I do this because I want to start a big business, because I have a big goal. You must think that after I get the 75,000, I will buy it immediately A carriage. No, sir, I'm going to keep wearing my old coat from the year before last, and get rid of all my friends in the club. We're all usurers here, but few are willing to work hard, but I Hard work. The key here is to persevere to the end—the most important thing! When Ptitsyn was seventeen, he slept on the street, selling pencil sharpeners, and started from scratch. Now he has sixty thousand rubles, but he Getting rich comes after brainstorming and hard work! Now I can skip that stage and start a business with a lot of money. In fifteen years, people will say: 'What a Iwolkin King of the Jews.' You told me just now that I have no character. Remember, my dear prince, there is nothing better in our age and our people than to say that he has no character, no character. Weak, without other talents, and an ordinary person, it's even more annoying. You don't even give me the nickname of a capable bastard, you know, just because of that alone, I wanted to kill you. Eat it. You insulted me worse than Ye Panqin, he thought I would sell my wife to him (no temptation, no extra talk, just rely on your intuition, please pay attention to this)! Sir, this matter has long been over I am so angry that I need money. When I get rich, you see, I will become a man of great power and power. Money is the most despicable and most hateful, because it makes people grow Talent. And until the end of the world, there will be such magical powers. You will say that it is all childish, or rather poetic,—so what, I have a successful career, and I enjoy it. I must persevere to the end, bear hardships and stand hard work to the end. Rira bienqui rira le dernier! Why did Ye Panqin bully me like this? Is it because he hates me? No! It’s just because I am too small. Okay, but then... ...But that's enough, let's stop here. Kolya has poked his head in twice: he's calling you to dinner. I'm going out. I'll come to see you sometimes. You live in my house, we'll decide I won't treat you badly. Now, everyone will regard you as one of their own. But please be careful not to reveal my secret. I think we are either friends or enemies. What do you think, if I kissed you just now hand (I volunteer and sincerely), shall I be your enemy hereafter?" "You will, but it won't be like this forever. Later, if you can't keep going, you will forgive me." The Duke thought for a while and smiled. "Hey! I really have to be careful with you. God knows, you have poison in your words. Who knows, maybe you are my enemy? It's a coincidence, hahaha! I forgot to ask you: I It seems to me that you are very fond of Nastasya Filippovna, don't you?" "Yes... like it." "Fall in love with her?" "No—no." "But she's flushed and lovesick. Well, it's nothing, it's nothing, I won't make fun of you. Good-bye. But you know, she's a virtuous person, can you believe that? Do you think Is she still living with that Totsky? No, absolutely not, not long ago. Did you notice? She was very embarrassed, just now, for a few seconds. Really. Such a woman is also the most Love to be domineering. Okay, goodbye!" Ganetchka was in a good mood when she went out, and much more casually than when she came in.For about ten minutes the Duke sat still, thoughtful. Kolya stuck his head through the door again. "I don't want to eat, Kolya. I just had breakfast at Yepanchin's and had a good meal." Kolya went through the door and handed the prince a note.The note was from the general, folded and sealed.From Kolya's face, it was obvious that he was very sad and reluctant to pass on this note.When the duke had finished reading, he stood up and took up his hat. "It's only two steps away," Kolya said sheepishly, "and now he's sitting there drinking. How on earth is he going to pay on credit?—I don't know. My dear prince, please don't go with me in the future." People in our family mentioned that I sent you a note! I have sworn a thousand times that I would never give such a note, but I look at him poorly. But please don't be polite to him on one thing: give him how much money! Just pocket money." "Kolya, I have an idea: I must see your father... I have something to ask... let's go."