Page 71 - the-idiot

more prominently; the pourparlers had commenced, and
gradually even Totski began to believe in the possibility of
success.
Before long Nastasia and Gania had talked the matter
over. Very little was said—her modesty seemed to suffer
under the infliction of discussing such a question. But she
recognized his love, on the understanding that she bound
herself to nothing whatever, and that she reserved the right
to say ‘no’ up to the very hour of the marriage ceremony.
Gania was to have the same right of refusal at the last mo-
ment.
It soon became clear to Gania, after scenes of wrath and
quarrellings at the domestic hearth, that his family were se-
riously opposed to the match, and that Nastasia was aware
of this fact was equally evident. She said nothing about it,
though he daily expected her to do so.
There were several rumours afloat, before long, which
upset Totski’s equanimity a good deal, but we will not now
stop to describe them; merely mentioning an instance or
two. One was that Nastasia had entered into close and secret
relations with the Epanchin girls—a most unlikely rumour;
another was that Nastasia had long satisfied herself of the
fact that Gania was merely marrying her for money, and
that his nature was gloomy and greedy, impatient and self-
ish, to an extraordinary degree; and that although he had
been keen enough in his desire to achieve a conquest before,
yet since the two friends had agreed to exploit his passion for
their own purposes, it was clear enough that he had begun
to consider the whole thing a nuisance and a nightmare.

0 The Idiot