Chapter 27 27. Fiancé and Dad

Modern Pieces "I hear you're going to be married!" asked an acquaintance at the dacha ball to Pyotr Petrovich Mirkin. "When will the boy's farewell party be?" "How do you know I'm getting married soon?" Mirkin became angry when he heard that, "Which bastard told you this?" "That's what everyone says, and it's obvious from all the signs... Don't keep it secret, old man... You think we don't know everything, but we see you through, and we know it all!... Hehehe... By the way It was obvious from all the signs... You stayed at the Kondrashkin's all day, you ate lunch, you ate dinner there, you sang ballads... You walked only with Nastenka Kondrashkina, and only for her Sending flowers alone, dragging her in... we all saw it, sir! I met Kondrashkin himself the other day, and he said it himself, everything is settled for you, just wait until you move back to the city from the dacha , the wedding will be held right away... How? God bless! I'm happy for you, and even more so for Kondrashkin... You know, the poor man has seven daughters! Seven! Is this a joke? It would be nice to have a chance to get one out..."

"Damn it..." thought Mirkin, "he's the tenth person who has mentioned this marriage to me. On what grounds do they draw such conclusions? To hell with them all! Just because I'm at Kondrashkin every day. Dinner at home, walks with Nastenka... No—yes, it's time to put an end to this gossip, it's about time, or these damned real arranged marriages... Tomorrow I'm going to talk to this stupid Kondrashkin Make it clear and tell him not to wishful thinking, as for me, as soon as possible - slip away!" On the second day of the above-mentioned conversation, Mirkin came to the study in the dacha of Kondrashkin, the minister of the seventh rank, feeling embarrassed and somewhat frightened.

"Welcome, Pyotr Petrovitch!" said his master, welcoming him. "How is your day, are you? Are you bored, my dear? Heh heh heh... Nastenka will be here soon... She went to Gu Xiefu's house, I'll be back in a while..." "I, to be honest, didn't come to see Nastasya Kirilovna," stammered Mirkin, rubbing his eyes in embarrassment, "but to you . . . I need to talk to you. One thing... oops, something fell into the eye..." "Then what are you going to talk about?" Kondrashkin rolled his eyes. "Heh heh heh... why are you so coy, my dear? Well, man, man! I really don't care about you young people." Way! I know what you want to say! Hehehe... It should have been..."

"To be honest, for some reason... Well, you see, it's like this. I've come to say goodbye to you... Tomorrow I'm leaving..." "What do you mean you are leaving?" asked Kondrashkin, staring. "It's very simple... I'm leaving here, that's all... Allow me to thank you and your family for the warm welcome... Your daughters are all lovely... I will never forget this time in my life..." "I'm sorry, sir..." Kondrashkin blushed, "I don't quite understand what you mean... Of course, everyone has the right to leave here... You can do what you want, but, Sir, you ... want to slip ... you are dishonest, sir!"

"I... I... I don't understand, why do I want to slip?" "You come here every day all summer long, eat and drink, and make people hope for you. You talk nonsense with girls from morning to night, and then suddenly you say: 'I'm leaving!'" "I... I've never given anyone hope..." "Of course, you didn't propose, but isn't it clear what your intentions are in your words and deeds? Come to eat every day, hold hands with Nastya every night... Could it be that all this is without intention? Only a fiancé does it every day." If you are not your fiance, can I feed and drink for you when you are eating at someone else’s house? Yes, you are dishonest! I don’t even want to listen to you! You have to propose, or I will... that..."

"Nastasya Kirilovna is lovely... a good girl... I respect her, and... I don't think you could have found a better wife, but... our beliefs and opinions don't agree. " "That's the reason." Kondrashkin smiled. "Is that so? Why, my dear, how can one find a wife who agrees with her husband? Well, young man, young man! Childish, childish! As long as I talk about some point of view, really, hehehe... I'm so excited... Now that you disagree, it doesn't matter, as long as the couple lives for a while, all these bumps will be smoothed away... The new road is still there It’s not easy to walk, and when the vehicles coming and going press down on it for a while, it’s not to mention how flat it is!”

"You are right, but . . . I am not good enough for Nastasya Kirilovna . . . " "Good match, good match! Not worth mentioning! You are a good young man!" "You don't understand my shortcomings... I'm poor..." "It doesn't matter! You get paid every month, thank God..." "I... am an alcoholic..." "No, no, no! I've never seen you drunk once!" Kondrashkin waved his hands. "A young man must drink too much... I was too young, and I drank too much. It's inevitable..." "But I'm an alcoholic. I've got it here."

"I don't believe it! Such a handsome young man, suddenly - drunk! I don't believe it!" "You can't fool him, old man!" Mirkin thought to himself, "but he really wants to push his daughter out!" And he said aloud: "Besides my drunkenness, I have other problems .I take bribes..." "My boy, who doesn't take bribes? Hehehe. Look at what he's making a fuss about!" "Besides, I have no right to marry until I know the sentence against me... There is something I have been keeping from you, and now you must know the whole truth... I... I am in court for embezzlement..."

"A lawsuit?" Kondrashkin was stunned. "That's right! It's news... I didn't know about it. It's true that you can't get married until the verdict... So you embezzled a lot of money?" ?” "One hundred and forty-four thousand." "That's right, it's a lot of money! Yes, this matter is indeed a bit Siberian... In this way, my girl can only ruin her future in vain. If this is the case, then there is nothing to say, God bless you..." With a sigh of relief, Mirkin reached for his hat. "But," continued Kondrashkin after a moment's consideration, "if Nastenka really loves you, she can go there with you. If she's afraid of sacrifice, what's love? And Tomsk Province It’s very rich. Life in Siberia, brother, is better than here. If it wasn’t for the family, I would have gone there long ago. You can propose!”

"This old devil is stubborn!" thought Mirkin, "if he can get rid of it, he will marry his daughter to the devil." Public funds, I also falsified evidence." "It's the same anyway! Only one sentence!" "Pooh!" "Why are you spitting so loudly?" "It's nothing... Listen to me, I haven't confessed to you yet... Don't make me tell the secrets of my life... Terrible secrets!" "I don't want to know your privacy! It's so trivial, it's not worth mentioning!" "It's not trivial, Kirill Trofimitch! If you hear... know who I am, you will definitely break up with me... I... I am a convict on the run!!"

Kondrashkin jumped away from Mirkin as if stung by a wasp, almost petrified.For a full minute he stood tongue-tied and motionless, looking at Mirkin with horror in his eyes, then sank into the armchair, groaning incessantly. "Didn't expect . . . " he muttered, "whom did I warm with my chest! Go! For God's sake, go! Don't let me see you again! Alas!" Mirkin picked up his hat and walked triumphantly towards the door... "Wait!" Kondrashkin called to him, "how come you haven't been caught yet?" "Now that I've changed my name...it's not easy to catch me..." "You may live like this all your life, and die without anyone knowing who you are... Wait a minute! You're an honest man now, you've repented a long time ago... God bless you, that's it, get married!" Mirkin broke out in a cold sweat... He really couldn't make up a scarier story than the escaped convicts, and there was only one way in front of him: run away shamelessly without giving any reason... He was about to rush out the door when a Another thought flashed through... "Listen to me, you don't know the whole story," he said, "I... I am mad, and it is forbidden for the insane and the mad to marry..." "I don't believe it! It's impossible for a lunatic to speak in such an orderly manner..." "You can tell by saying that you don't understand! Don't you know that many madmen only go mad when they are sick, and the rest of the time they are just like normal people?" "I don't believe it! Stop talking!" "In that case, I'll get you a doctor's certificate!" "Prove me, but you didn't... what a lunatic!" "I'll bring you the certificate in half an hour...see you later!" Mirkin grabbed his hat and hurried out.Five minutes later he was at the house of his friend Dr. Fityuyev, but unfortunately he caught up with the doctor fixing his hair because he had just had a fight with his wife. "My friend, I have one thing to ask of you!" he said to the doctor. "The thing is... I am forced to marry, and in order to get out of this disaster I have come up with the idea of ​​playing mad... from a certain In a sense, this is Hamlet's way... You know, lunatics are forbidden to marry...For the sake of my friends, give me a certificate of insanity!" "You don't want to get married?" asked the doctor. "Absolutely not!" "In this case, I can't give you a certificate," the doctor said while smoothing his hair, "People who don't want to get married are by no means crazy, on the contrary, they are the smartest people... When you want to get married, Come here, I will definitely give you a certificate... Only then will it prove that you are indeed crazy..."

---

Notes: