When they had gone, Lida sat down again in the rocking-chair. Her position was a different one, now, for she bent forward, trembling all over, and her silent tears fell fast.
"Come, come! What"s the matter?" said Sanine, as he took hold of her hand.
"Oh! don"t! What an awful thing life is!" she exclaimed, as her head sank lower, and she covered her face with her hands, while the soft plait of hair, slipping over her shoulder, hung down in front.
"For shame!" said Sanine. "What"s the use of crying about such trifles?"
"Are there really no other ... better men, then?" murmured Lida.
Sanine smiled.
"No, certainly not. Man is vile by nature. Expect nothing good from him.... And then the harm that he does to you will not make you grieve."
Lida looked up at him with beautiful tear-stained eyes.
"Do you expect nothing good from your fellow-men, either?"
"Of course not," replied Sanine, "I live alone."
CHAPTER XXIX.
On the following day Dounika, bare-headed and barefooted, came running to Sanine who was gardening.
"Vladimir Petrovitch," she exclaimed, and her silly face had a scared look, "the officers have come, and they wish to speak to you." She repeated the words like a lesson that she had learnt by heart.
Sanine was not surprised. He had been expecting a challenge from Sarudine.
"Are they very anxious to see me?" he asked in a jocular tone.
Dounika, however, must have had an inkling of something dreadful, for instead of hiding her face she gazed at Sanine in sympathetic bewilderment.
Sanine propped his spade against a tree, tightened his belt and walked towards the house with his usual jaunty step.
"What fools they are! What absolute idiots!" he said to himself, as he thought of Sarudine and his seconds. By this no insult was intended; it was just the sincere expression of his own opinion.
Pa.s.sing through the house, he saw Lida coming out of her room. She stood on the threshold; her face white as a shroud, and her eyes, anxious and distressful. Her lips moved, yet no sound escaped from them. At that moment she felt that she was the guiltiest, most miserable woman in all the world.
In an arm-chair in the morning-room sat Maria Ivanovna, looking utterly helpless and panic-stricken. Her cap that resembled a c.o.c.k"s comb was poised sideways on her head, and she gazed in terror at Sanine, unable to utter a word. He smiled at her and was inclined to stop for a moment, yet he preferred to proceed.
Tanaroff and Von Deitz were sitting in the drawing-room bolt upright, with their heads close together, as if in their white tunics and tight riding-breeches they felt extremely uncomfortable. As Sanine entered they both rose slowly and with some hesitation, apparently uncertain how to behave.
"Good day, gentlemen," said Sanine in a loud voice, as he held out his hand.
Von Deitz hesitated, but Tanaroff bowed in such an exaggerated way that for an instant Sanine caught sight of the closely cropped hair at the back of his neck.
"How can I be of service to you?" continued Sanine, who had noticed Tanaroff"s excessive politeness, and was surprised at the a.s.surance with which he played his part in this absurd comedy.
Von Deitz drew himself up and sought to give an expression of _hauteur_ to his horse-like countenance; unsuccessfully, however, owing to his confusion. Strange to say, it was Tanaroff, usually so stupid and shy, who addressed Sanine in firm, decisive fashion.
"Our friend, Victor Sergejevitsch Sarudine has done us the honour of asking us to represent him in a certain matter which concerns you and himself." The sentence was delivered with automatic precision.
"Oho!" said Sanine with comic gravity, as he opened his mouth wide.
"Yes, sir," continued Tanaroff, frowning slightly. "He considers that your behaviour towards him was not--er--quite ..."
"Yes, yes, I understand," interrupted Sanine, losing patience.
"I very nearly kicked him out of the house, so that "not--er--quite" is hardly the right way of putting it."
The speech was lost upon Tanaroff, who went on:
"Well, sir, he insists on your taking back your words."
"Yes, yes," chimed in the lanky Von Deitz, who kept shifting the position of his feet, like a stork.
Sanine smiled.
"Take them back? How can I do that? "As uncaged bird is spoken word!""
Too perplexed to reply, Tanaroff looked Sanine full in the face.
"What evil eyes he has!" thought the latter.
"This is no joking matter," began Tanaroff, looking flushed and angry.
"Are you prepared to retract your words, or are you not?"
Sanine at first was silent.
"What an utter idiot!" he thought, as he took a chair and sat down.
"Possibly I might be willing to retract my words in order to please and pacify Sarudine," he began, speaking seriously, "the more so as I attach not the slightest importance to them. But, in the first place, Sarudine, being a fool, would not understand my motive, and, instead of holding his tongue, would brag about it. In the second place, I thoroughly dislike Sarudine, so that, under these circ.u.mstances, I don"t see that there is any sense in my retractation."
"Very well, then..." hissed Tanaroff through his teeth.
Von Deitz stared in amazement, and his long face turned yellow.
"In that case..." began Tanaroff, in a louder and would-be threatening tone.
Sanine felt fresh hatred for the fellow as he looked at his narrow forehead and his tight breeches.
"Yes, yes, I know all about it," he interrupted. "But one thing, let me tell you; I don"t intend to fight Sarudine."
Von Deitz turned round sharply.
Tanaroff drew himself up, and said in a tone of contempt.