Page 455 - the-idiot

have begun, but you have not allowed me to go on...’
The prince gave no answer, and sat deep in thought. Evi-
dently he was struggling to decide.
‘Very well! Tell me the truth,’ he said, dejectedly.
‘Aglaya Ivanovna ...’ began Lebedeff, promptly.
‘Be silent! At once!’ interrupted the prince, red with in-
dignation, and perhaps with shame, too. ‘It is impossible
and absurd! All that has been invented by you, or fools like
you! Let me never hear you say a word again on that sub-
ject!’
Late in the evening Colia came in with a whole budget
of Petersburg and Pavlofsk news. He did not dwell much
on the Petersburg part of it, which consisted chiefly of in-
telligence about his friend Hippolyte, but passed quickly to
the Pavlofsk tidings. He had gone straight to the Epanchins’
from the station.
‘There’s the deuce and all going on there!’ he said. ‘First
of all about the row last night, and I think there must be
something new as well, though I didn’t like to ask. Not a
word about YOU, prince, the whole time!’ The most inter-
esting fact was that Aglaya had been quarrelling with her
people about Gania. Colia did not know any details, except
that it had been a terrible quarrel! Also Evgenie Pavlovitch
had called, and met with an excellent reception all round.
And another curious thing: Mrs. Epanchin was so angry
that she called Varia to her—Varia was talking to the girls—
and turned her out of the house ‘once for all ‘she said. ‘I
heard it from Varia herself—Mrs. Epanchin was quite po-
lite, but firm; and when Varia said good-bye to the girls, she

The Idiot