The Idiot Page 22

He knew her at once fromher photograph. Her eyes blazed with anger as she looked at him. Shequickly pushed by him into the hall, shouldering him out of her way, andsaid, furiously, as she threw off her fur cloak:

  “If you are too lazy to mend your bell, you should at least wait inthe hall to let people in when they rattle the bell handle. There, now,you’ve dropped my fur cloak--dummy!”

  Sure enough the cloak was lying on the ground. Nastasia had thrown itoff her towards the prince, expecting him to catch it, but the princehad missed it.

  “Now then--announce me, quick!”

  The prince wanted to say something, but was so confused and astonishedthat he could not. However, he moved off towards the drawing-room withthe cloak over his arm.

  “Now then, where are you taking my cloak to? Ha, ha, ha! Are you mad?”

  The prince turned and came back, more confused than ever. When she burstout laughing, he smiled, but his tongue could not form a word as yet. Atfirst, when he had opened the door and saw her standing before him, hehad become as pale as death; but now the red blood had rushed back tohis cheeks in a torrent.

  “Why, what an idiot it is!” cried Nastasia, stamping her foot withirritation. “Go on, do! Whom are you going to announce?”

  “Nastasia Philipovna,” murmured the prince.

  “And how do you know that?” she asked him, sharply.

  “I have never seen you before!”

  “Go on, announce me--what’s that noise?”

  “They are quarrelling,” said the prince, and entered the drawing-room,just as matters in there had almost reached a crisis. Nina Alexandrovnahad forgotten that she had “submitted to everything!” She was defendingVaria. Ptitsin was taking her part, too. Not that Varia was afraid ofstanding up for herself. She was by no means that sort of a girl; buther brother was becoming ruder and more intolerable every moment. Herusual practice in such cases as the present was to say nothing, butstare at him, without taking her eyes off his face for an instant. Thismanoeuvre, as she well knew, could drive Gania distracted.

  Just at this moment the door opened and the prince entered, announcing:

  “Nastasia Philipovna!”

  IX.

  Silence immediately fell on the room; all looked at the prince as thoughthey neither understood, nor hoped to understand. Gania was motionlesswith horror.

  Nastasia’s arrival was a most unexpected and overwhelming event to allparties. In the first place, she had never been before. Up to now shehad been so haughty that she had never even asked Gania to introduce herto his parents. Of late she had not so much as mentioned them. Gania waspartly glad of this; but still he had put it to her debit in the accountto be settled after marriage.

  He would have borne anything from her rather than this visit. But onething seemed to him quite clear--her visit now, and the present of herportrait on this particular day, pointed out plainly enough which wayshe intended to make her decision!

  The incredulous amazement with which all regarded the prince did notlast long, for Nastasia herself appeared at the door and passed in,pushing by the prince again.

  “At last I’ve stormed the citadel! Why do you tie up your bell?” shesaid, merrily, as she pressed Gania’s hand, the latter having rushedup to her as soon as she made her appearance. “What are you looking soupset about? Introduce me, please!”

  The bewildered Gania introduced her first to Varia, and both women,before shaking hands, exchanged looks of strange import. Nastasia,however, smiled amiably; but Varia did not try to look amiable, and kepther gloomy expression. She did not even vouchsafe the usual courteoussmile of etiquette. Gania darted a terrible glance of wrath at herfor this, but Nina Alexandrovna mended matters a little when Ganiaintroduced her at last. Hardly, however, had the old lady begun abouther “highly gratified feelings,” and so on, when Nastasia left her, andflounced into a chair by Gania’s side in the corner by the window, andcried: “Where’s your study? and where are the--the lodgers? You do takein lodgers, don’t you?”

  Gania looked dreadfully put out, and tried to say something in reply,but Nastasia interrupted him:

  “Why, where are you going to squeeze lodgers in here? Don’t you usea study? Does this sort of thing pay?” she added, turning to NinaAlexandrovna.

  “Well, it is troublesome, rather,” said the latter; “but I suppose itwill ‘pay’ pretty well. We have only just begun, however--”

  Again Nastasia Philipovna did not hear the sentence out. She glanced atGania, and cried, laughing, “What a face! My goodness, what a face youhave on at this moment!”

  Indeed, Gania did not look in the least like himself. His bewildermentand his alarmed perplexity passed off, however, and his lips nowtwitched with rage as he continued to stare evilly at his laughingguest, while his countenance became absolutely livid.

  There was another witness, who, though standing at the door motionlessand bewildered himself, still managed to remark Gania’s death-likepallor, and the dreadful change that had come over his face. Thiswitness was the prince, who now advanced in alarm and muttered to Gania:

  “Drink some water, and don’t look like that!”

  It was clear that he came out with these words quite spontaneously, onthe spur of the moment. But his speech was productive of much--forit appeared that all Gania’s rage now overflowed upon the prince. Heseized him by the shoulder and gazed with an intensity of loathing andrevenge at him, but said nothing--as though his feelings were too strongto permit of words.

  General agitation prevailed. Nina Alexandrovna gave a little cry ofanxiety; Ptitsin took a step forward in alarm; Colia and Ferdishenkostood stock still at the door in amazement;--only Varia remained coollywatching the scene from under her eyelashes. She did not sit down,but stood by her mother with folded hands. However, Gania recollectedhimself almost immediately. He let go of the prince and burst outlaughing.

  “Why, are you a doctor, prince, or what?” he asked, as naturally aspossible. “I declare you quite frightened me! Nastasia Philipovna, letme introduce this interesting character to you--though I have only knownhim myself since the morning.”

  Nastasia gazed at the prince in bewilderment. “Prince? He a Prince? Why,I took him for the footman, just now, and sent him in to announce me!Ha, ha, ha, isn’t that good!”

  “Not bad that, not bad at all!” put in Ferdishenko, “_se non è vero_--”

  “I rather think I pitched into you, too, didn’t I? Forgive me--do! Whois he, did you say? What prince? Muishkin?” she added, addressing Gania.

  “He is a lodger of ours,” explained the latter.

  “An idiot!”--the prince distinctly heard the word half whispered frombehind him. This was Ferdishenko’s voluntary information for Nastasia’sbenefit.

  “Tell me, why didn’t you put me right when I made such a dreadfulmistake just now?” continued the latter, examining the prince from headto foot without the slightest ceremony. She awaited the answer as thoughconvinced that it would be so foolish that she must inevitably fail torestrain her laughter over it.

  “I was astonished, seeing you so suddenly--” murmured the prince.

  “How did you know who I was? Where had you seen me before? And why wereyou so struck dumb at the sight of me? What was there so overwhelmingabout me?”

  “Oho! ho, ho, ho!” cried Ferdishenko. “_Now_ then, prince! My word,what things I would say if I had such a chance as that! My goodness,prince--go on!”

  “So should I, in your place, I’ve no doubt!” laughed the prince toFerdishenko; then continued, addressing Nastasia: “Your portrait struckme very forcibly this morning; then I was talking about you to theEpanchins; and then, in the train, before I reached Petersburg, ParfenRogojin told me a good deal about you; and at the very moment that Iopened the door to you I happened to be thinking of you, when--there youstood before me!”

  “And how did you recognize me?”

  “From the portrait!”

  “What else?”

  “I seemed to imagine you exact
ly as you are--I seemed to have seen yousomewhere.”

  “Where--where?”

  “I seem to have seen your eyes somewhere; but it cannot be! I have notseen you--I never was here before. I may have dreamed of you, I don’tknow.”

  The prince said all this with manifest effort--in broken sentences, andwith many drawings of breath. He was evidently much agitated. NastasiaPhilipovna looked at him inquisitively, but did not laugh.

  “Bravo, prince!” cried Ferdishenko, delighted.

  At this moment a loud voice from behind the group which hedged in theprince and Nastasia Philipovna, divided the crowd, as it were, andbefore them stood the head of the family, General Ivolgin. He wasdressed in evening clothes; his moustache was dyed.

  This apparition was too much for Gania. Vain and ambitious almost tomorbidness, he had had much to put up with in the last two months, andwas seeking feverishly for some means of enabling himself to lead a morepresentable kind of existence. At home, he now adopted an attitudeof absolute cynicism, but he could not keep this up before NastasiaPhilipovna, although he had sworn to make her pay after marriage for allhe suffered now. He was experiencing a last