Page 456 - the-idiot

told them nothing about it, and they didn’t know they were
saying goodbye for the last time. I’m sorry for Varia, and for
Gania too; he isn’t half a bad fellow, in spite of his faults, and
I shall never forgive myself for not liking him before! I don’t
know whether I ought to continue to go to the Epanchins’
now,’ concluded Colia—‘ I like to be quite independent of
others, and of other people’s quarrels if I can; but I must
think over it.’
‘I don’t think you need break your heart over Gania,’
said the prince; ‘for if what you say is true, he must be con-
sidered dangerous in the Epanchin household, and if so,
certain hopes of his must have been encouraged.’
‘What? What hopes?’ cried Colia; ‘you surely don’t mean
Aglaya?— oh, no!—‘
‘You’re a dreadful sceptic, prince,’ he continued, after
a moment’s silence. ‘I have observed of late that you have
grown sceptical about everything. You don’t seem to believe
in people as you did, and are always attributing motives and
so on—am I using the word ‘sceptic’ in its proper sense?’
‘I believe so; but I’m not sure.’
‘Well, I’ll change it, right or wrong; I’ll say that you are
not sceptical, but JEALOUS. There! you are deadly jeal-
ous of Gania, over a certain proud damsel! Come!’ Colia
jumped up, with these words, and burst out laughing. He
laughed as he had perhaps never laughed before, and still
more when he saw the prince flushing up to his temples. He
was delighted that the prince should be jealous about Agla-
ya. However, he stopped immediately on seeing that the
other was really hurt, and the conversation continued, very