Page 890 - the-idiot

thought better of it again and put it off for an hour.
The chief object in his mind at this moment was to get
as quickly as he could to Nastasia Philipovna’s lodging. He
remembered that, not long since, when she had left Pav-
lofsk at his request, he had begged her to put up in town at
the house of a respectable widow, who had well-furnished
rooms to let, near the Ismailofsky barracks. Probably Nas-
tasia had kept the rooms when she came down to Pavlofsk
this last time; and most likely she would have spent the
night in them, Rogojin having taken her straight there from
the station.
The prince took a droshky. It struck him as he drove on
that he ought to have begun by coming here, since it was
most improbable that Rogojin should have taken Nastasia
to his own house last night. He remembered that the porter
said she very rarely came at all, so that it was still less likely
that she would have gone there so late at night.
Vainly trying to comfort himself with these reflections,
the prince reached the Ismailofsky barracks more dead
than alive.
To his consternation the good people at the lodgings had
not only heard nothing of Nastasia, but all came out to look
at him as if he were a marvel of some sort. The whole family,
of all ages, surrounded him, and he was begged to enter. He
guessed at once that they knew perfectly well who he was,
and that yesterday ought to have been his wedding-day; and
further that they were dying to ask about the wedding, and
especially about why he should be here now, inquiring for
the woman who in all reasonable human probability might