Chapter 21 two

It has been a whole week in early June, and the weather in Petersburg is rarely good.The Epanchins had their own luxurious dacha in Pavlovsk.Lizaveta Prokofievna suddenly became excited and busy.After less than two days of work, the whole family moved to the villa. On the second or third day after the Yepanchins moved out, Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin also arrived in Petersburg from Moscow by an early train.No one went to meet him at the station, but when the prince got off the train, he seemed to see a strange and passionate look from someone's eyes in the crowd that had gathered around to meet the passengers.He took a closer look and couldn't make out anything.Of course, this is no more than an illusion, but the impression left is unpleasant.Besides, the duke was always sad and thoughtful, as if he had something on his mind.

A cab took him to a hotel not far from Cast Iron Street.This hotel sucks.The duke asked for two small rooms, very dark and poorly furnished.After washing and dressing, the prince hurried out without needing anything, as if he was afraid of wasting time or that he might not meet him on a visit. If anyone among those who had known him from his first arrival in Petersburg half a year before looked up at him now, he would probably find that his appearance had changed a great deal, much better.But that's not necessarily the case.It's just that the clothes have changed: all the clothes have changed, they've all been made to order in Moscow by good tailors, but the clothes also have their faults: they're too stylishly made (some are flattering, but not very skilled) tailor, always at work), and the wearer has no interest in style, so it may not be difficult for the duke to make fun of him, just by taking a good look at him. A place of dumbfounded laughter.But some people insist on finding it ridiculous for no reason, what can we do?

The duke hailed a cab and set out for the beach.In an alley on Christmas Street, he quickly found a small log cabin.He was amazed that the cabin looked beautiful, clean and well-groomed, and there was a small garden in front of the house, full of flowers.Several windows facing the street were open, and from the window came a person's passionate and eloquent voice, almost shouting, as if someone was reciting or even giving a speech. interrupted by the sound.The prince went into the courtyard, climbed the steps, and asked to see Mr. Lebedev. "They're in there," replied a cook, who rolled up her sleeves to her elbows and opened the door, pointing to the "parlor".

The living room is covered with lake-blue wallpaper, and it is neatly tidied up, but it is too particular: there is a small round table, a couch, a bronze clock with a glass cover, and a wall-mounted clock. There was a long and narrow mirror, and an antique small chandelier with small glass strings hung from the ceiling on a bronze chain. Mr. Lebedev himself was standing in the middle of the room, his back turned to the prince who came in from the door, He was wearing a waistcoat, but no jacket, in summer attire, and was giving a speech on some subject, beating his chest and feet with grief.His audience was a boy of fifteen or sixteen, a young girl of about twenty, and a little girl of thirteen.The boy was quite lively, he didn't look stupid, and he was holding a book in his hand; the young girl was wearing mourning clothes, holding a nursing baby; It's stupid.Finally, among the observers, there was a very strange young man, lying on the sofa, in his twenties, quite handsome, with dark complexion, long hair, very dense hair, black and big eyes, on both sides of his cheeks And the beard under the chin is slightly exposed.The young man seemed to interrupt Lebedev's speeches frequently to argue with him.The reason why the other audience laughed was probably because they were laughing at this incident.

"Lukyan Timofeitch, Lukyan Timofeitch! Look! You look back! . . . Oh, you people are disgusting!" The cook waved her hand and walked away angrily, even flushed with anger. Lebedev turned his head and saw the prince, who stood there for a moment as if struck by a bolt from the blue, then ran up to him, smiling and obsequiously, but stopped suddenly in the middle of the road, stuttering. Baba said repeatedly: "Duke great-great-lord!" But he turned away again, as if in shock, and for no reason, first rushed at the girl in mourning with the child in her arms, who took a step back in fright at his sudden arrival.But he immediately left her again and threw himself on the thirteen-year-old girl who was standing in the doorway leading to another room, still giggling after laughing.The little girl couldn't stand his yelling, and fled into the kitchen, and Lebedev stamped her back repeatedly as a threat.But when he met the Duke's awkward eyes, he hurriedly explained:

"Show...respect, hehehe!" "You don't need to do this..." the Duke was about to speak. "Come, come, come... just talk!" After saying this, Lebedev ran out of the room in a hurry.The prince looked in amazement at the girl, the boy, and the young man lying on the sofa, who were all laughing.The Duke laughed too. "Going to put on a tuxedo," said the boy. "I'm so sorry," said the duke, just as he was about to begin, "I thought . . . please, he . . . " "You think he's drunk?" cried the man lying on the sofa. "Not at all! Unless he's had three or four drinks, five at the most, and that's nothing--everyday."

The duke was about to turn and speak to the man on the sofa, but the pretty girl spoke up, and with a very calm look on her face, she said: "He never drank much in the morning. If you need anything from him, do it now, it's the right time. He'll come home in the evening and he'll be dead drunk. Now he cries at night and reads us the Bible, because we His mother died five weeks ago." "The reason why he ran away must be because it was difficult to answer your question," the young man lying on the sofa said with a smile, "I bet he will definitely make up a set of lies to deceive you, and he is currently using his brain."

"It's only been five weeks! It's only been five weeks!" Lebedev, who had put on his tailcoat and returned to his room, went on, blinking, and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away his tears. "Is it all over?" Mother's child!" "Why did you come out in your clothes with holes?" the girl said, "Isn't there a new coat behind the door here? Didn't you see it or something?" "Shut up, you're the one who has a lot to do!" Lebedev yelled at her. "Oh, you!" he stamped at her as he said it, but this time she just laughed.

"Don't try to frighten people. I'm not Tanya, and I won't scare you away. But Lyubochka, I might have woken you up, maybe I've got a fright... What are you yelling about?" "No, never! I'll let you have a boil on your tongue..." Lebedev was suddenly very frightened. He took two steps forward to look at the child sleeping in his daughter's arms, and painted on her with great worry. a cross. "My lord, my lord, keep her safe! She is my own blood, she is still breastfeeding, and her daughter is called Lyubov," he said to the prince. "She was born to my first wife Yelena, She died in childbirth. The ugly girl is my daughter Vera, in mourning... As for this, this, oh, this..."

"Why are there no words?" cried the young man. "Go on, don't be shy." "Your Excellency!" Lebedev said with a sudden impulsive emotion, "Did you read about the murder at the Remarin's house?" "I see." The Duke said with some surprise. "Okay, then this is the real murderer who killed the Remarin family, and he is the murderer!" "What are you talking about?" said the prince. "I'm making an analogy. If there is a second Remarin family in the future, then he will be the second murderer in the future. He is about to strike..."

Everyone laughed.Then the prince thought that perhaps Lebedev was really hesitating and putting on airs because he had a presentiment that the prince would ask him some questions, and he didn't know how to answer them, so he was stalling for time and trying to find a way to deal with them. "He's plotting, trying to rebel!" cried Lebedev, as if in a rage. "Can I, have I the right to call such a gossip, a rascal and a scoundrel, so to speak, as a man?" Do you think your own nephew is the only son of my deceased sister Anisia?" "Come on, you're a drunkard! Believe it or not, duke, he's got a whim now, he wants to be a lawyer, he wants to engage in court proceedings, so he mustered up his tongue and talked to the children at home all day long. He pleaded incessantly. Five days ago he was defending a man before a civil judge. Whom was he defending? Not the old woman who begged him so much (the old woman was killed by a shameless loan shark ruined her fortune, the guy took her five hundred rubles. took all her property), but defended a usurer named Zaidlai Jew, because he promised him fifty rubles remuneration……" "Fifty rubles for a win, and five rubles for a loss," Lebedev explained suddenly, in a voice completely different from the one he had just said, as if he had never yelled at all. "Of course he is talking nonsense and talking nonsense. You know it's not the way it used to be, and it's ridiculous. But he is still complacent, saying that fair and honest judges, please think about it, an old man with a bleak old age, He is sick, and has always been diligent and honest, but now he is being bullied, and he can't get over it. Please think about the wise words of a legislator: 'The court should be based on benevolence'. Believe it or not, he All here repeating his speech to us as if he were speaking in court, for the fifth time today. Before you came, he was still speaking loudly, and he was very proud. He thought the punch line He was still preparing to continue to defend someone. You must be Prince Myshkin? Kolya told me about you and said that he had never met in the world so far. Smarter people..." "Yes! Yes! There is no wiser man in the world!" Lebedev immediately interjected. "It seems to me that this man is talking nonsense. One is saying it because he loves you, the other is flattering you, and I have no intention of flattering you, you know that. I see, you There will be no lack of judgment: you judge, and I am right and wrong with him. I say, would you like to let the duke judge?" he said to his uncle. "Duke, I am even delighted by your sudden appearance." "All right!" cried Lebedev resolutely, but he could not help looking back at his audience, when they began to gather again. "What's the matter with you two?" asked the Duke, frowning. He did have a headache, and besides he was more and more convinced that Lebedev was talking about him, and was happy to put things aside and talk about unimportant things. "Let's talk about the case first. I'm his nephew, and he's right in saying that, although he's lying. I didn't finish college, but I miss it, and I insist on it, because I'm a man of character. In order to make a living, I got a job on the railway at twenty-five rubles a month. Besides, I admit that he helped me two or three times. I had twenty rubles with me, but I lost it. I said, Prince, believe it or not , I am too despicable and nasty to lose my money." "And losing to a scoundrel, a bastard, you shouldn't pay him!" cried Lebedev. "Yes, losing to a villain, but you should give money if you lose," continued the young man. "As for saying that he is a villain, I can prove it myself, not because he ever beat you up. Prince, this man is a dismissed officer, a retired lieutenant, who once served in Rogozhin's gang and taught boxing. Since Rogozhin let them break up, they are now living and wandering everywhere. But the worst thing is that I sat down to play cards with him knowing that he was a villain, a villain, a thief, and while betting the last ruble (we played 'sticks'), I thought to myself: If you lose, go to Uncle Lukyan, as long as I ask him, he will not refuse. This is obscene, it is simply too obscene! It is simply a despicable act of knowingly committing it!" "Simply a deliberate and despicable act!" repeated Lebedev. "Oh, don't be complacent, just listen to me!" cried the nephew, displeased. "He's still happy. I came to him, Prince, and confessed everything to him. I did it honestly." Well, I don't excuse myself. I scolded myself in front of him, and everyone heard it, and can testify. I had to have some decent attire for my work on the railroad, because I had Look at these boots! Otherwise, I won't be able to go to work. If I don't report by the appointed date, the place may be taken by someone else, and then I will be high above the equator again, no I don't know when and when I will be able to find another job. Now I just ask him to lend me fifteen rubles, and promise not to forget, and I also promise to pay off all debts within three months, not a kopeck. I mean what I say. I can eat bread and kvass for months on end, because I am a man of character. In three months I can get seventy-five rubles. Including what I owed him before, the total I owe him thirty-five rubles, so I can afford it. Well, I can ask for interest, as much as I want, damn it! Doesn’t he know me? Prince, you can Ask him, did I pay him back the money he did for me in the past? Why won't he borrow it now? I paid the lieutenant's betting bill and he's mad. There's no other reason than that! That's the kind of person he is—not good for himself, but bad for others!" "Still hanging on!" cried Beredev, "just lie here and hang on." "I've already told my story, and I won't leave until I give it. You seem to be laughing, duke? You seem to think I'm wrong?" "I didn't laugh, but I think there is something wrong with you," replied the prince unhappily. "You just say that I'm all wrong, don't hesitate, what do you mean by 'kinda'!" "It's all wrong, if you don't mind." "I don't mind! Ridiculous! Don't you think I don't know that I am in a dilemma and have to do it? The money belongs to him, and whether I want to borrow it from him or not, I force him to borrow it, which is coercion. But duke, you... ...You don't know how human nature is. If you don't teach this kind of person, he doesn't know what is good. You have to teach them. You know, I have a clear conscience. In good conscience, I will not let him suffer, I will take my own money He can also get a kind of spiritual satisfaction: seeing me begging him humbly. What else does he want? What is the use of such a person who is not willing to help others? Come on, he himself What is he doing? Ask him what he did to people, how did he swindle them? How did he get this property? If he hadn't swindled you in the past, he hasn't tried to do it now. If I continue to lie to you, I will cut off my head! You are laughing, don't you believe it?" "It seems to me that all this does not quite fit your case," said the prince. "It's been the third day I've been lying here and I haven't seen anything!" cried the young man, deaf to the prince's words. "Imagine how he would suspect this angel, this motherless man now." The child's girl, my cousin, his own daughter, he goes to her house every night to catch the rape! He also sneaks up to me and searches under my sofa, he is suspicious, mad with illness, everywhere They all saw thieves. He stayed up all night, jumped up from time to time, sometimes checked whether the windows were closed tightly, sometimes tried whether the door was properly closed, and sometimes looked into the stove again. time. I stood on the side of the liar in court, but I got up and prayed again and again at night. In this living room, I knelt on my knees and kowtowed like pounding garlic for half an hour each time, and I was still praying to someone. Crying and muttering, because he was drunk? He also said a requiem for the Countess Du Barry, I heard that with my own ears, and Kolya heard it, and he is completely mad!" "Prince, you have seen, you have heard, how he has spoiled me!" cried Lebedev, his face flushed, and he was really angry, "he does not know that although I am a drunkard and a bastard, Robbers and rogues, but not a bad heart, probably, and I deserve it, who made me ask for trouble, when I used to wrap candles for this spoiling scumbag when he was a baby I took a bath in a wooden basin. At that time, my sister Anisia was just widowed and penniless, and I was also penniless like her. I kept watch every day and stayed up all night. , was hungry, sang to him, played with torreya to tease him, and finally brought him up, and now he can laugh at me wantonly! What does it matter to you that I made the cross on my forehead? Duke, I read her biography for the first time in an encyclopedia the day before yesterday. Do you know who Du Barry is? Tell me, you know. ?" "Hmph, are you the only one who knows?" The young man muttered with mockery and displeasure. "She was a countess who, in spite of the humiliation, took the place of the empress and ruled the palace, a great empress called her 'ma cousine' in her own letters, and a cardinal, an envoy sent by the pope , on levee du roi (do you know what levee du roi means?) volunteered to wear stockings for her (her feet were bare) and was proud of it,—she is such a noble and And very holy man! Do you know this? I can see it on your face, but you don't. Then how did she die? If you know, answer!" "Go away, are you finished?" "This is how she died, after she had enjoyed all her splendor and wealth, she was terrified to understand why an executioner named Samson should drag such a former lady to the guillotine for the amusement of the poissarcles of Paris." What happened. She saw the executioner grabbed her neck, pinned her to the guillotine, and knelt her in (those in the audience laughed), and she shouted: 'Encore un moment, mousieur le Bourreau, encore un moment!' This means: Wait a moment, Monsieur the Executioner, just a moment! Perhaps for this moment, the Lord forgives her, for the human heart has a misere more than this, it is unimaginable. You know What does the word misere mean? Anyway, misere is misere. When I read the countess' cry in the book, and as soon as I read it, my heart is like a knife. I went to sleep in The name of the great sinner mentioned in the prayer, what does it have to do with you, a little reptile? The reason why I mentioned her and prayed for her is probably because no one has ever drawn her on the forehead since the beginning of the world Cross, I didn't even think of doing this. If she knows that there is a sinner like her in the world who is praying for her, even if she prays just once, she will be happy in the underworld. What are you laughing at? You don't believe it, you atheist. How do you know? You say you overheard my prayers, which is also nonsense: for I pray not only for Madame du Barry, but this is my prayer: 'Lord, May the great sinner, the Countess du Barry, and her like rest in peace!' It is quite a different matter: for there are many such sinners, wretched wretches who have been played by the goddess of fate, who have suffered a lot, and who are still there. Not all day long, groaning and expecting. I was still praying for you, and for people like you who are shameless and antagonistic, if you really overheard how I prayed..." "Well, that's enough, stop talking, pray for whoever you like, hell, look at your yelling!" Lebedev's nephew interrupted him angrily. "He's very well-read, duke, don't you know?" he added with an awkward smile. "Now he reads all kinds of books and memoirs of that sort." "After all, your uncle is not the kind...without a heart." The Duke said involuntarily.He gradually found the young man very annoying. "You must praise him so badly! You can see how he puts his hand to his heart, grins his mouth wide, and licks his tongue. Maybe he's not the heartless kind, but he's a liar, That's the worst. Besides, he's been drunk all the time, he's falling apart, he's stumbling around like a drunk who's been drinking for years, so he's not feeling well. Even if he loves children, he respects my dead aunt... He even loves me very much, you know, he really left me a legacy in his will..." "I leave you nothing!" cried Lebedev excitedly. "Listen, Lebedev," said the prince decisively, turning away from the young man, "I know from experience that you are a very capable man if you want to... I have very little time now. , if you... sorry, I forgot, how do you call your name and father's name?" "Ji-Ji-Ji Mofei." "anything else?" "Lukyanovich." Everyone in the room laughed. "Nonsense!" exclaimed the nephew, "you're lying about such things! Prince, his name isn't Timofey Lukyanovitch at all, he's Lukyan Timofeevich! Well, tell me!" Say, why are you lying? Really, it doesn't matter if your name is Lukyan or Timofe, and what does it have to do with the prince? Tell you, it's all out of a bad habit of lying. !" "Is it true?" asked the Duke impatiently. "My name is indeed Lukyan Timofeevich." Lebedev nodded awkwardly, lowered his eyes obediently, and put his hand on his heart again. "Why do you do that, oh, my God!" "Out of modesty," Lebedev murmured, lowering his head even more and looking more honest as he spoke. "Oh, why be so humble! I just want to know where Kolya can be found now!" said the prince, and turning away he wanted to leave. "I can tell you where Kolya is," the young man volunteered again. "No, no, no!" Lebedev angrily stepped forward to stop him. "Kolya stayed here yesterday, but he went out early this morning to find his general. Prince, God knows why you bailed the general out of prison. Yesterday the general promised to stay here in the evening, but he didn't come. He is probably staying at the Scale Hotel not far from here. So Kolya is either there or at the Yepanchin dacha in Pavlovsk. He has money with him and wanted to go yesterday. Therefore, not at the Scale The hotel is in Pavlovsk." "In Pavlovsk, in Pavlovsk! . . . But let's come here, in the little garden here . . . and have some coffee . . . " Lebedev took the prince by the hand and dragged him out.They went out of the room, across a small courtyard, and through a garden gate.Sure enough, there is a small and beautiful garden inside, because the weather is good, the garden is full of spring and green.Lebedev invited the prince to sit on a green wooden bench facing a green table buried in the ground, and he himself sat down opposite the prince.After a while, coffee was brought.The duke didn't refuse.Lebedev continued to fawn on the prince's countenance without taking his eyes off it. "I didn't know you had such a fine property," said the duke, with an air of thought. "No—motherless child..." Lebedev curled up and said, but swallowed the words again.The Duke looked ahead absently, of course he had already forgotten the question he had just asked.After another minute or so, Lebedev was watching, waiting. "Oh, what did you say?" asked the prince, as if awakened suddenly, "oh yes! Lebedev, you yourself know what's going on between us: I've only come because of your letter. Tell me." Lebedev hesitated, wanted to say something, but swallowed the words again: he said nothing.The Duke waited for a moment, then smiled wretchedly. "I seem to know you well, Lukyan Timofeevich: you probably didn't expect me to come. You don't think I'd come from the backwater where I'm at on your notice, You are writing this letter just to clear your conscience. And here I am. Come on, come on, don’t lie to me again. Don’t have two servants and two masters. Rogozhin has been here for three weeks , I know all about it. Did you betray her to him as you did last time? Tell the truth." "The scoundrel figured it out by himself, he figured it out by himself." "Don't scold him, it's certainly not good for him to treat you that way..." "You beat me up so hard!" Lebedev continued suddenly, very excitedly. "In Moscow, a dog bit me and chased me all over the street. It was a fast hunting dog. , a terrible dog." "You take me for a three-year-old, Lebedev. Tell me, did she really leave him this time in Moscow?" "Really, really left him, and was about to get married again. The fellow thought it was just around the corner, but she came to Petersburg, and came to me as soon as she got out of the car: 'Help me, hide me, Lukyan, don't tell the prince either... 'Prince, she's more afraid of you than he is, it's incomprehensible!" Saying this, Lebedev pointed cunningly to his forehead with a finger. "And now you've got them together again?" "My lord duke, how can I... How can I not let them be together?" "Well, that's enough, I'll find out all myself. But tell me, where is she now? With him?" "Oh no! Nothing of that! She's still alone. She says I'm free. You know, Prince, she insists on that very much. She says I'm still perfectly free! She's still living in the Petersburg district , at the house of my sister-in-law, as when I wrote to you." "Still living there?" "Still living there, unless sometimes the weather is nice, going to Pavlovsk, staying at Darya Alexeyevna's dacha. "I'm completely free," she said. Yesterday she For a while she boasted of her freedom to Nikolai Ardalionovitch. That's not a good omen, sir!" Lebedev grinned. "Does Kolya go to her often?" "This kid's behavior is unreliable, making people inexplicable, and he has no one to tell the door." "Did you go to her a long time ago?" "Every day, I go every day." "So you went there yesterday?" "No, I went the day before yesterday, where are you!" "It's a pity you had some wine, Lebedev! Otherwise, I would have something to ask you." "Nothing, I'm not drunk at all!" Lebedev opened his eyes wide and pretended to be listening. "Excuse me, what was she like when you left her?" "If something is missing..." "What if something is missing?" "She seemed to have lost something and was always looking for something. She was disgusted and angry at the thought of this marriage. As for him, he was nothing more than a piece of orange peel, at best, maybe even worse. What's more, when he thinks of him, he is afraid and horrified, and he is not even allowed to talk about him, and only meet him unless it is absolutely necessary... He knows this very well! But there is nothing to do with her! She is anxious, sneering, Inconsistent words and deeds, bad temper..." "Inconsistent words and deeds, bad temper?" "I have a bad temper. Last time, because I said a wrong sentence, she almost pulled my hair. So I used the "Apocalypse" to cure her illness and disaster." "What's going on?" the Duke thought he had heard wrong, and asked back. "Read her the Book of Revelation. She's a woman with a very lively imagination, and besides, as far as I've observed, she's very fond of serious subjects, even if they're irrelevant ones. She likes being talked about to her, Even take it as someone who thinks of her. Yes, you. I have a good way of explaining the Book of Revelation. I have been teaching it for fifteen years. She agrees with me. Now we are in the age of the third dark horse, That is to say, the era when the rider held the scale in his hand. In today’s world, everything is built on the scale and the contract. What everyone is looking for is only his own rights: "One penny buys one liter of wheat, one penny buys three liters of barley... 'Then there is a free spirit, a pure heart, and a sound body, and at the same time want to keep everything God has given. But rights alone cannot keep these things, because with it comes the gray horse, whose name is Death, and hell after it 176 . "Do you really believe that yourself?" asked the prince, looking at Lebedev with a curious look. "I believe it, that's why I tell it. Because I'm naked, I have nothing, I'm a drop in the ocean in the cycle of life. Who takes me, Lebedev, as a human being? Anyone tries to tease me and almost kicks me. But in explaining "Revelation", I can sit on an equal footing with the dignitaries. Because wisdom is above all else! The dignitaries sit in their easy chairs and ponder the divine meaning... trembling before me. The year before last, before Easter , a high official, Neil Alexievich, heard that there was such a person (I was still working in his old man's hall at the time), so he asked Peter Zakharech to call me from the duty room to him I went to my office, and when everyone else was out, he asked me, "Are you really an expert on antichrist?" Reduce the horror, but open the picture scroll of metaphors, enhance the horror with imagination, and cite some numbers. The old man smiled wryly, and trembled after hearing the numbers and such descriptions, please close the book and go quickly, and spend Easter At the time, he sent a reward to me, but after Easter, he gave his soul to God." "How can it be, Lebedev?" "That's right. After dinner, fell from the carriage, hit his temple on a low stone pillar at the side of the road, and died immediately like a child, like a child. According to the resume, he was seventy He was three years old, but he had white hair and a childlike face, was covered in perfume, and was always smiling, like a child. According to Peter Zahareich’s recollection at the time: “This, unfortunately, is what you said.” He said. The Duke stood up.Lebedev was surprised and even embarrassed that the prince had risen. "You're so indifferent, haha!" he said flatteringly and boldly. "Really, I don't feel very well, maybe because of the fatigue of the journey, my mind is dizzy." The Duke frowned and replied. "You should go to the dacha and rest for a while, you," Lebedev reminded him cautiously. The Duke pondered for a moment. "In three days, I also want to take the whole family to live in the villa for a while. On the one hand, in order to keep the newborn bird healthy, on the other hand, I also want to take the opportunity to completely decorate the house. I will also go to Pavlo Vsk." "Are you also going to Pavlovsk?" asked the prince suddenly. "What is the matter? Are all of you going to Pavlovsk? You mean you have your dacha there too?" "Not everybody goes to Pavlovsk. Ivan Petrovich Ptitsyn got me some cheap dachas and gave me one. It's beautiful, high, green everywhere, cheap, and It's tasteful, and there's music, so everybody's going to Pavlovsk. But I'm staying in a wing, and as for the dacha..." "Rented out?" "No—no, it's not... not decided yet." "Let it to me." The Duke suddenly suggested. It seems that Lebedev wanted to achieve this goal after talking about it.Three minutes ago, this idea flashed through his mind.其实他已经不需要再去找房客了，因为想租这座别墅的人已经到他这儿来过，并且当面告诉他，这别墅他想租也说不定。列别杰夫心里明白，不是“也说不定”，而是肯定要租。但是他现在忽然闪过一个他自以为妙不可言的想法，何不利用以前那个承租人没有说定这个空子，把别墅转租给公爵呢？ “冲突迭起，事情急转直下”这幅图画蓦地展现在他的想象力面前。他几乎兴高采烈地接受了公爵的提议，因为当公爵直率地问他房租的时候，他甚至连连摆手。 “好说，好说，我先去打听一下，不会让您吃亏的。” 他们俩边说边走出花园。 “公爵大人，如果您爱听，我倒有……倒有……一件非常有意思的跟那人有关的事奉告。”列别杰夫嘟囔道，高兴地在公爵身旁侧着身子转来转去。 公爵停住了脚步。 “达里娅·阿列克谢耶芙娜在帕夫洛夫斯克也有一座小别墅，您哪。” “那又怎么样呢？” “那位太太跟她是好朋友，大概，打算经常到帕夫洛夫斯克去拜访她，另有目的。” “那又怎么样呢？” “阿格拉娅·伊万诺芙娜……” “啊呀，得了，列别杰夫！”公爵好像被人触到痛处似的，带着一种不快的感觉打断了他的话，“这一切……统统是误会。您最好告诉我，您准备什么时候搬过去？对我来说是越快越好，因为我住在旅馆里……” 他俩边说边走出了花园。他们没有再进屋去，而是穿过院子，走到门口。 “最好是，”列别杰夫终于想出了办法，“您从旅馆里直接搬到我这里来，而且今天就搬来，后天，我们一起到帕夫洛夫斯克去。” “以后再说吧。”公爵若有所思地说，说罢便走出了大门。 列别杰夫看了看他离去的背影，他很惊讶，公爵怎么会突然心不在焉起来。他出去的时候甚至都忘了说“再见”，甚至连头也没点一下。这有点反常，因为列别杰夫知道公爵一向是彬彬有礼和礼貌周全的。