Chapter 29 Chapter 01

Night had already fallen, and it was already dusk, and it was only then that I woke up from the gloomy nightmare and remembered what was before me. "Nellie," I said, "you are sick and in a bad mood, and I can only leave you alone to weep. My child! Please forgive me, you know, now There is also one who is loved by others, but does not get Forgiveness, she is unfortunate, dishonored and betrayed.she is waiting for me.Now, after hearing your story, it makes me feel that I must see her immediately, and if I don't see her immediately and immediately, maybe I will die of anxiety...

" I don't know if Nellie understood what I was saying to her.I was restless because I had heard her story, and because I had just been ill; so I went to Natasha anxiously.It's getting late, I'll take her home It was already past eight o'clock. Still in the street, at the gate of Natasha's building, I noticed a spring carriage, which I took to be the prince's carriage.To go upstairs to Natasha, one had to enter through the yard.As soon as I stepped up the stairs, I heard , a flight of stairs higher, there is a person who is cautiously going up the stairs in the dark, this person is obviously not familiar with this place.I thought it must be the Duke; but I soon gave up the idea.The stranger went upstairs, cursing

Cursed this section of the road, and the more they climbed, the more vigorously they cursed.Needless to say, the stairs are narrow, dirty, steep, and never lit; but the cussing from the third floor, I can't believe anyway, that it could come from a public office. the mouth of the lord; and the gentleman who is going upstairs scolds like a coachman.But the lights were visible from the third floor; a small street lamp was burning at Natasha's door.I did not overtake the stranger until the door, when I recognized the man as the Duke Time.I was absolutely amazed.It seemed that he was very unhappy to meet me so unexpectedly.In the first instant.He didn't recognize me: but his whole face changed suddenly.He glared at me viciously first, then hurriedly

He became amiable and smiling, and stretched out his hands to me as if overjoyed. "Oh, it's you! I almost got down on my knees and prayed to God to save my life. Did you hear me swearing?" He laughed heartily after speaking.But suddenly there was a serious and concerned look on his face. "How could Alyosha allow Natalya Nikolaevna to live in such a room!" he said, shaking his head. "Although these are trivial, you can also see a person. I am really worried for him. He has a good heart and a noble heart. Heart, but I offer you an example: love a girl obsessively, but let the woman you love live in such a doghouse.I hear sometimes there isn't even bread," he added in a low voice as he searched for the doorbell handle.

sentence. "When I think of his future, especially of Anna Nikolaevna, if she becomes his wife . . . it breaks my head.'" He mispronounced Natasha's name without noticing it, obviously annoyed at not being able to find the doorbell.But there was no doorbell at all.I pulled the handle of the door lock, and Mafra immediately opened the door for us and hurriedly invited us in. Through the open door of the kitchen in the modest outbuilding, which is partitioned off by a wooden wall, it can be seen that certain preparations have been made; Passed; a fire was lit in the stove; Set of new cutlery.It can be seen that it is waiting for us.Mafra hurried over to take off our coats.

"Is Alyosha here?" I asked her. "Not at all," she whispered, somewhat mysteriously. Let's go in and see Natasha.No special preparations were going on in her room; everything was the same.However, her house had always been so tidy and beautiful that it did not need to be tidied up.Natasha welcomed us at the door.sick look on her face I was taken aback by her thinness and unusual pallor, although for a moment a blush flashed across her ashen face.Silently, hastily, she held out her hand to the Duke, visibly flustered and bewildered.she didn't even look Look at me, I stand there silently waiting.

"I'm here!" said the Duke, friendly and cheerful, "'I've only been back a few hours. You haven't been out of my mind all this time (he kisses her hand affectionately)— I turned over and over again, over and over again Think about your question in three places!How much I have to tell you, I want to express it quickly... Well, we can have a long talk!First, I see, my fool has not been here yet..." "Excuse me, Prince," Natasha interrupted, blushing and somewhat flustered, "I have two words to tell Ivan Petrovitch. Vanya, let's go . . . and say a few words . . . "

She grabbed my hand and led me behind the screen. "Vanya," she whispered, leading me into the darkest corner, "will you forgive me?" "Come on, Natasha, what are you talking about!" ①It should be Natalia.The Duke mispronounced Natasha's name, obviously disrespecting Natasha and not taking Natasha to heart. "No, no, Vanya, you always forgive me, you forgive me too many times, but you know there is a limit to any patience. I know you will never stop loving me, but you must think that I Man is ungrateful, yesterday and the day before yesterday I To you is ungrateful, only thinking of yourself, cruel..."

She burst into tears and pressed her face against my shoulder. "Come, Natasha," I hastened to reassure her, "you know, I was very ill, I was ill all night: even now I can't stand on both legs, so neither last night nor to-day I came to see you, but you thought I was angry... ... My dear friend, don't I know what is going on in your heart right now? " "That's good... so, as usual, you forgive me again," she said, laughing through tears, and squeezed my hand so hard it hurt. "We'll talk about the rest later. I have a lot to tell you, Vanya. Now

, let's go..." "Go away, Natasha; we have left him so suddenly..." "What the hell is going on here, you'll see, you'll see," she whispered hurriedly to me. "Now I know everything, and unfortunately I was right. The culprit is him. We can see the outcome tonight. Let's go!" I didn't understand, but there was no time to ask.Natasha looked cheerful as she came out to meet the prince.He was still standing there with his top hat on.She apologized to him with a big smile, took the top hat from him, brought him a chair herself, and we Jim sat around her small table.

"Speaking of my fool," the prince continued, "I saw him only once, for a short time, and in the street, just as he was getting into the car to visit Count Shonaida Fyodoroguana. Madame. He is in a hurry, you think, After four days, he wouldn't even stand up, and got out of the car to accompany me to the house to sit for a while.Natalya Nikolaevna, it seems that it is all my fault that he has not come to see you, and I have come before him; for I cannot see the count today. Ma'am, so I took this opportunity to ask him to do something for me.But, he will come right away. " "He must have promised you to come today?" Natasha looked at the Duke and asked with a very honest look. "Oh, my God, how could he not come; how can you ask that!" cried he, looking at her in amazement. "I get it, though: you're mad at him. It's outrageous that he was last. But, I repeat, this It's all my fault.Don't be mad at him.He is a slow-witted, foolish man; and I will not defend myself, but there are special circumstances which require him not only to disregard the countess's family, but also to disregard other relations, but on the contrary. , should be visited as often as possible.Well, since he's presumably inseparable with you by now, and forgets about everything in the world, then, if I want to send him to do one or two things, for an hour or two at most, I'll just have to ask how much do you Forgive me.I believe that since that evening he has probably not once seen Duchess K., so I am very sorry that I have not had time to ask him! ..." I glanced at Natasha.She listened to the Duke's discourse with a half-mocking smile on her face.But he spoke so bluntly, so naturally, that it seemed impossible to have the slightest doubt about him. "You really don't know that he hasn't seen me once these days?" Natasha asked softly and peacefully, as if she were talking about something very ordinary to her. "What! Not once? Excuse me, what did you say!" said the prince, evidently surprised. "You came to see me late on Tuesday night; he stopped by me the next morning, and stayed half an hour, and I haven't seen him once since then." "But it's impossible! (He's getting more and more amazed.) I thought he was always with you. I'm sorry, but that's so strange . . . it's unbelievable." "But then again, it's true, and it's a pity: I've been waiting for you to come to my humble house, and I want to know where he is?" "Oh, my God! You know, he's going to be here in no time! But what you've told me just astonished me, and I... to tell you the truth, I thought he'd do everything." I got it, but I didn't expect him to be like this... …so! " "Look at your astonishment! I thought you were not only not surprised, but even expected it to be." "I expected it! Me? But I can assure you, Natalia Nikolaevna, that I saw him only today, and I will see him soon, and besides, I have not told anyone Asked about him; I find it strange that you seem As if you don't believe me," he continued, looking at me from the past. "Don't think so," Natasha intervened. "I am absolutely convinced that you are telling the truth." She smiled again, and looked the Duke directly in the eyes, and that made him feel like he was on pins and needles. "Want to hear more," he said awkwardly. "It goes without saying. I made it plain. He's light and forgetful--you know that. And now, when he's given full liberty, he does as he pleases." "But it's impossible to do as you please, there must be a reason for it, and when he comes, I'll make him explain it right away. But what surprises me most is that you seem to be blaming me for something, In fact, these days I don't even I'm not here.Then again, Natalia Nikolaevna, I see that you are very angry with him—that is understandable!You have every right to do so, and ... and ... of course, I am the first to blame, at least because I bumped into you first; isn't it so? "He always turned to me angrily, and continued with a sneer on his face. Natasha's face flushed red. "I'm sorry, Natalya Nikolaevna," he went on with air, "I agree, it's all my fault, and I should have gone away the very next day after our acquaintance. And your character, according to my observation, is somewhat suspicious Heart disease, so you changed your opinion of me, besides, the environment also contributed to this.If only I hadn't gone—you'd know me better, and besides, Alyosha wouldn't be foolish and frivolous under my supervision.Nowadays You'll hear how I lecture him. " "Tell me the truth. You meant to make him hate me. A man as clever as you is, and I don't believe you would seriously think that using such means would do me any favors." "You mean to imply to me that I did it on purpose so that he would hate you? You have wronged me, Natalya Nikolaevna." "I try to use as few hints as possible when I talk to anyone," Natasha replied. "On the contrary, I always try to be as straightforward as possible. Maybe you can feel this today. I don't want to wrong you, and I don't want to necessary, because regardless of my Whatever I say to you, you won't be offended by what I say.I'm pretty sure of this, because I know our mutual relationship perfectly: you don't take it seriously, do you?But if I'm really wronged You have been in vain, I am ready to apologize to you, and to fulfill... everything a master should do. " Although Natasha said this in a relaxed, half-joking tone, with a smile on her lips, I had never seen her so furious.Now I understand that during those three days she was completely heartbroken.What did her enigmatic words say? She understood it all, as expected, and so on, it frightened me; these words were spoken directly to the Duke.She had changed her mind about him, seeing him as an enemy—it was obvious.She clearly put all the frustrations and setbacks in her relationship with Alyosha It was all due to him making troubles in the bushes, maybe she had the materials in her hands.I was afraid that there would be a sudden quarrel between them.Her bantering tone was too explicit, too undisguised.What were her last words to the duke? So he will never take their relationship seriously, because she is the master, willing to apologize to him, her threatening promise: this evening she will prove to him that she is straightforward-the words are so vitriolic, so To be blunt, it is impossible for the Duke not to understand all these things.I saw his color change, but the man had a lot of self-control.He immediately pretended that he didn't pay attention to these words at all, and didn't understand the real meaning of them. Prevarication passed. "Don't ask me to ask for an apology!" He said with a smile on his face. "What I want is not an apology at all. Asking a woman to apologize is not in line with my way of life. When we first met, I partly explain me to you I have an opinion, so you won't be offended if I say it, and it's a general opinion about all women; you'll probably agree with it," he turned to me amiably. Turned around and continued, "Said To be clear, I found that there is such a feature in a woman's personality. For example, if a woman says something or does something wrong, she would rather make up for her mistakes with all kinds of tenderness and love afterwards. not now , admitting to being wrong when the evidence is strongest, and asking for forgiveness.So suppose you have wronged me; but now, even at this moment, I deliberately do not want you to apologize to me; I think it would be better later, when you realize your wrong Finally, I thought...it would be more beneficial for me to make up for my mistakes with all kinds of tenderness and love.You are so kind, so pure, so charming, so expressive, and I have a hunch that you will be very charming when you regret your past mistakes.you first Instead of apologizing, why don't you tell me, is there any way I can prove to you today that what I have done to you is far more sincere and straightforward than you think I am? " Natasha's face flushed.I also think the duke's tone of answer to Nan is a bit frivolous, even too presumptuous, and it is a kind of shameless ridicule. "You want to prove to me that you are straight and honest with me, don't you?" asked Natasha, looking at the prince defiantly. "yes." "If that's the case, I have something to ask." "It must be done." "My request is: don't say anything about me, today or tomorrow, to embarrass Alyosha. Say nothing to reproach him for forgetting me; don't say anything to lecture him. I want to see when it comes to him It's like nothing happened between the two of us, so he can't see anything.I need this.Can you assure me? " "I am at your service with great pleasure," replied the duke; "permit me to say to you again, that I have seldom met a man with more wisdom and foresight in such matters than you. . . . ...But, listen, it looks like Alyosha is here. " Sure enough, there was a noise from the outer room.Natasha shivered, as if she was ready for something.The prince sat upright, waiting for the next sentence; he fixed his eyes on Natasha.But the door opened, and Alyosha rushed in as if flying in.