Chapter 12 12. Singer

Back then, she was younger and more beautiful than now, and her singing voice was more beautiful.One day, in the balcony of her dacha, sat Nikolai Podrovich Kolbakov, her admirer.The weather was unbearably hot.Kolbakov had just finished his lunch and drank a large bottle of bad wine, feeling out of sorts and feeling ill.Both of them felt bored and just waited for the heat to subside so they could go for a walk. Suddenly and unexpectedly the doorbell rang in the hall.Kolbakov, who was naked and followed by slippers, jumped up and looked at Pasha questioningly. "Probably the postman, or maybe his girlfriend," Pasha said.

Kolbakov never avoided Pasha's girlfriend and the postman, but this time, just in case, he picked up a pile of his clothes and went to the next room.Pasha ran to open the door.To her surprise, the person standing at the door was neither a postman nor a girlfriend, but a lady she had never met.She was young, handsome, well-dressed, and in every respect a noble lady. The strange woman was pale and out of breath, as if she had just climbed a tall staircase. "What's your business?" Pasha asked. The wife did not answer immediately.She took a step forward, surveyed the room slowly, and then sat down, looking overtired and ill.She kept trying to move her pale lips, trying to say something.

"Is my husband with you?" she finally asked, looking up at Pasha with her big eyes, red from crying. "What husband?" Pasha whispered, her hands and feet turned cold with fright. "What husband?" she repeated, beginning to tremble. "My husband, Nikolai Petrovich Korbakov." "No... no... madam... I... I don't know your husband." A minute passed in silence.The strange woman wiped her pale lips with a handkerchief several times, and held her breath from time to time to suppress the trembling in her heart. Pasha stood in front of her dumbfounded, looking at her in confusion and fear.

"You mean, then, that he's not here?" asked Madame already in a calm voice, smiling oddly for some reason. "I... I don't know who you are asking." "You are despicable, nasty, hateful..." The strange woman said in one breath, and looked at Pasha with hatred and disgust. "Yes, yes . . . you mean. I'm very, very glad I finally said that to my face!" Pasha felt that she must have left some kind of obscene and ugly impression on this lady in black with angry eyes and thin white fingers, and she couldn't help but marvel at her fat red cheeks, freckles on her nose and forehead Feeling ashamed because of the bangs that I can't comb back.She felt that if she was thinner, without makeup and bangs, then she could still hide her modest status, and she would not be so panic and ashamed in front of this strange and mysterious woman.

"Where is my husband?" went on the lady, "but I don't care if he's here or not, but I must tell you that his misappropriation has been uncovered, and Nikolai Petrovich is being looked for everywhere. . . . Arrest him. Look what you've done!" The wife got up and walked up and down the room in great excitement.Pasha looked at her, ignorant of fright. "To-day we're going to catch him and arrest him," said the madam, sobbing, and in the sobs her humiliation and frustration could be heard. "I know who brought him to such a dreadful place! Vile, vile thing! Abominable whore who sells flesh (the lady wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips in disgust). I'm impotent... Listen! , bastard woman!... I am weak and you are stronger than me, but someone will come out to protect me and my children! God sees everything! He is just! God will be for every tear of mine, for All my sleepless nights to punish you! One day you will remember my words."

There was another silence.Madame continued to walk up and down the room, wringing her hands, while Pasha continued to stare at her in bewilderment, wondering why she had come, waiting for her to do something terrible. "I, madam, know nothing!" she said, bursting into tears. "You're lying!" The wife reprimanded loudly, and gave her a fierce look, "I know everything! I knew you a long time ago! I also know that he's fooling around with you every day this month!" "Yes. So what? There's nothing you can do about it. I always have a lot of visitors here, but I never force anyone. Come or come as you please."

"Let me tell you: his misappropriation of public funds has been exposed! He took advantage of his position to embezzle public funds! For you... for you, he would not hesitate to commit a crime. Listen," Madam stopped in front of Pasha, with a firm voice. He said in a tone, "It is impossible for people like you to have any principles. You live to do evil, and this is your purpose. But you can't think that you have fallen so deeply that you don't have any human feelings left on you! He has Wife, children... Once he is convicted and sent to exile, my children and I will starve to death... You have to understand this! But there is still a way to save him, save me and my children from Poor and disgraced. If I can send nine hundred rubles today, he will be all right. Just nine hundred rubles!"

"What nine hundred rubles?" Pasha asked in a low voice, "I, I don't understand...I haven't taken it..." "I'm not asking you for nine hundred rubles... You have no money, and I won't take your money. What I want is things... Men like you usually give you all kinds of valuables. You Just give me back what my husband gave me!" "Ma'am, master, he didn't give me anything!" Pasha cried out suddenly, beginning to understand why she came. "So where did the money go? He squandered his own money, my money, the public's money . If it doesn't please me, I can apologize to you. You must hate me, I know that, but if you have any sympathy, please put yourself in my shoes! I beg you to give me back the things!"

"Hmph..." Pasha said, shrugging her shoulders, "I'd be happy to do this, but if I tell a lie and let God punish me, the master really didn't give me anything. Please believe in my conscience. But , you are right," the singing girl panicked, "Once, the master brought me two gadgets. Well, if you want, I will take them out..." Pasha opened a small drawer of the dressing table, and took out a hollow gold bracelet and a small gemstone ring of poor quality. "Here you are!" she said, handing these two things to the guest. The wife blushed suddenly, and her facial muscles twitched.She was insulted.

"What is it that you give me!" she said, "I'm not here to beg for a handout, I'm here to get back what doesn't belong to you... You've used your position to drain my husband, drain my This weak and unfeeling man. I saw you and my husband on the pier on Thursday, and you were wearing your expensive brooch and tin that day. So, you don't have to pretend to be an innocent lamb in front of me! Last time I ask You: Can you give me something!" "How strange you are indeed..." Pasha said, beginning to get angry, "I assure you that I have not seen anything from your Nikolai Petrovich except this brass bracelet and ring." Anything. Monsieur usually just brings me sweet pies."

"Sweet pies..." The strange woman sneered, "The children in the family are hungry, but you have sweet pies here! Are you sure you don't want to return the things?" Without waiting for an answer, the wife sat down and stared at a certain place, thinking about something. "What shall I do now?" she said. "If I don't get the nine hundred rubles, it will be the end of him, and me and the children. Shall I kill the wretch, or should I kneel down to her?" The wife covered her face with her handkerchief and burst into tears. "I beg you!" she cried, "it was you who ruined my husband's fortune and ruined his future. Please save him...you may have no sympathy for him, but the children , children...what's wrong with the children?" When Pasha thought of the children standing on the street, crying from hunger, she also burst into tears. "Madame, what can I do?" she said, "you just said that I was a bad woman and ruined Nikolai Petrovich's fortune, but I have as good a conscience for you as for a real God...  I assure you that I did not get a single favor from my lord.... Among our group of singing girls, only Morty was supported by a rich man, and the rest lived on bread and kvass. Nicholas Peter Roewich is a well-bred, courteous gentleman, and that is why I received him. We cannot but accept him." "I want something! Give it back to me! I'm crying... humiliating... well, I'll kneel down for you! Is that okay?" Pasha screamed in fright and waved her hands.She felt that this pale and beautiful lady, who performed so well as if she was acting on a stage, would really kneel to her out of pride and dignity, in order to exalt herself and demean the showgirl. "Okay, I'll give you something!" Pasha wiped her eyes and became flustered, "Okay. But the things don't belong to Nikolai Petrovich...the things are given to me by other customers. Just do as you want ,Mrs……" Pasha pulled out the top drawer of the chest of drawers, took out a diamond brooch, a string of coral, some gold rings, and a gold bracelet, and handed them all to the lady. "Take whatever you want, but I didn't get any benefits from your husband. Take it away, and you can get rich!" Pasha continued, and the strange woman threatened to kneel down to her, which made her feel very embarrassed "Since you are of noble birth... and he is his legal wife, then you should let him guard you all the time. That's right. I didn't invite him here, he came here by himself..." Said the madam, looking at what was given to her with tears in her eyes. "That's not all...these things are not worth five hundred rubles!" Impulsively, Pasha threw out a whole watch, a cigarette case, and a few gold buttons from the chest of drawers. Spreading her hands, she said, "Now I have nothing left...you search for it!" The visitor sighed, wrapped the things in his handkerchief with trembling hands, and went out without saying a word or even nodding his head. The door of the next room opened and Kolbakov walked in.His face was pale, and he shook his head nervously, as if he had just drunk a cup of bitter medicine.Tears glistened in his eyes. "What exactly did you give me?" Pasha asked him, "May I ask, when did you give it?" "It's... nothing, nothing," said Kolbakov, shaking his head again. "My God! She's weeping and humiliating in front of you..." "I want to ask you: what did you give me?" Pasha shouted. "My God, she's noble, proud, pure... She wants to kneel down and beg... Please, whore! Oh, it's my fault that I've driven her to this point!" He hugged his head and moaned, "No! I will never forgive my actions! Never forgive me! Stay away from me... bitch!" He shouted in disgust, and hurriedly backed away from Pasha, using Shaking hands pushed her away. "She wants to kneel... Whom? Please! Oh, my God!" He dressed quickly, avoided Pasha in disgust, ran to the gate, and left. Pasha lay down and began to cry loudly.At this time, she already felt sorry for what she had handed over impulsively, and felt aggrieved.She recalled that a businessman beat herself up for no reason three years ago, and she cried even more sadly when she thought of this.

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