Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (famous ebook reader TXT) 📖

At the thought of it, she was so frightened that she hurriedly got up again, and in utter confusion addressed Raskolnikov.

‘I … I … have come for one minute. Forgive me for disturbing you,’ she began falteringly. ‘I come from Katerina Ivanovna, and she had no one to send. Katerina Ivanovna told me to beg you … to be at the service … in the morning … at Mitrofanievsky … and then … to us …

to her … to do her the honour … she told me to beg you

…’ Sonia stammered and ceased speaking.

‘I will try, certainly, most certainly,’ answered Raskolnikov. He, too, stood up, and he, too, faltered and could not finish his sentence. ‘Please sit down,’ he said, suddenly. ‘I want to talk to you. You are perhaps in a hurry, but please, be so kind, spare me two minutes,’ and he drew up a chair for her.

Sonia sat down again, and again timidly she took a hurried, frightened look at the two ladies, and dropped her eyes. Raskolnikov’s pale face flushed, a shudder passed over him, his eyes glowed.

‘Mother,’ he said, firmly and insistently, ‘this is Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladov, the daughter of that

unfortunate Mr. Marmeladov, who was run over yesterday before my eyes, and of whom I was just telling you.’

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Pulcheria Alexandrovna glanced at Sonia, and slightly screwed up her eyes. In spite of her embarrassment before Rodya’s urgent and challenging look, she could not deny herself that satisfaction. Dounia gazed gravely and intently into the poor girl’s face, and scrutinised her with perplexity. Sonia, hearing herself introduced, tried to raise her eyes again, but was more embarrassed than ever.

‘I wanted to ask you,’ said Raskolnikov, hastily, ‘how things were arranged yesterday. You were not worried by the police, for instance?’

‘No, that was all right … it was too evident, the cause of death … they did not worry us … only the lodgers are angry.’

‘Why?’

‘At the body’s remaining so long. You see it is hot now. So that, to-day, they will carry it to the cemetery, into the chapel, until to-morrow. At first Katerina Ivanovna was unwilling, but now she sees herself that it’s necessary …’

‘To-day, then?’

‘She begs you to do us the honour to be in the church to-morrow for the service, and then to be present at the funeral lunch.’

‘She is giving a funeral lunch?’

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‘Yes … just a little…. She told me to thank you very much for helping us yesterday. But for you, we should have had nothing for the funeral.’

All at once her lips and chin began trembling, but, with an effort, she controlled herself, looking down again.

During the conversation, Raskolnikov watched her carefully. She had a thin, very thin, pale little face, rather irregular and angular, with a sharp little nose and chin. She could not have been called pretty, but her blue eyes were so clear, and when they lighted up, there was such a kindliness and simplicity in her expression that one could not help being attracted. Her face, and her whole figure indeed, had another peculiar characteristic. In spite of her eighteen years, she looked almost a little girl—almost a child. And in some of her gestures, this childishness seemed almost absurd.

‘But has Katerina Ivanovna been able to manage with such small means? Does she even mean to have a funeral lunch?’ Raskolnikov asked, persistently keeping up the conversation.

‘The coffin will be plain, of course … and everything will be plain, so it won’t cost much. Katerina Ivanovna and I have reckoned it all out, so that there will be enough left … and Katerina Ivanovna was very anxious it should 429 of 967

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be so. You know one can’t … it’s a comfort to her … she is like that, you know….’

‘I understand, I understand … of course … why do you look at my room like that? My mother has just said it is like a tomb.’

‘You gave us everything yesterday,’ Sonia said suddenly, in reply, in a loud rapid whisper; and again she looked down in confusion. Her lips and chin were trembling once more. She had been struck at once by Raskolnikov’s poor surroundings, and now these words broke out spontaneously. A silence followed. There was a light in Dounia’s eyes, and even Pulcheria Alexandrovna looked kindly at Sonia.

‘Rodya,’ she said, getting up, ‘we shall have dinner together, of course. Come, Dounia…. And you, Rodya, had better go for a little walk, and then rest and lie down before you come to see us…. I am afraid we have exhausted you….’

‘Yes, yes, I’ll come,’ he answered, getting up fussily.

‘But I have something to see to.’

‘But surely you will have dinner together?’ cried Razumihin, looking in surprise at Raskolnikov. ‘What do you mean?’

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‘Yes, yes, I am coming … of course, of course! And you stay a minute. You do not want him just now, do you, mother? Or perhaps I am taking him from you?’

‘Oh, no, no. And will you, Dmitri Prokofitch, do us the favour of dining with us?’

‘Please do,’ added Dounia.

Razumihin bowed, positively radiant. For one

moment, they were all strangely embarrassed.

‘Good-bye, Rodya, that is till we meet. I do not like saying good-bye. Good-bye, Nastasya. Ah, I have said good-bye again.’

Pulcheria Alexandrovna meant to greet Sonia, too; but it somehow failed to come off, and she went in a flutter out of the room.

But Avdotya Romanovna seemed to await her turn, and following her mother out, gave Sonia an attentive, courteous bow. Sonia, in confusion, gave a hurried, frightened curtsy. There was a look of poignant discomfort in her face, as though Avdotya Romanovna’s courtesy and attention were oppressive and painful to her.

‘Dounia, good-bye,’ called Raskolnikov, in the passage.

‘Give me your hand.’

‘Why, I did give it to you. Have you forgotten?’ said Dounia, turning warmly and awkwardly to him.

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‘Never mind, give it to me again.’ And he squeezed her fingers warmly.

Dounia smiled, flushed, pulled her hand away, and went off quite happy.

‘Come, that’s capital,’ he said to Sonia, going back and looking brightly at her. ‘God give peace to the dead, the living have still to live. That is right, isn’t it?’

Sonia looked surprised at the sudden brightness of his face. He looked at her for some moments in silence. The whole history of the dead father floated before his memory in those moments….

 

*****

 

‘I tell you again, mother, he is still very ill. Don’t you see it? Perhaps worrying about us upset him. We must be patient, and much, much can be forgiven.’

‘Well, you were not very patient!’ Pulcheria

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know, Dounia, I was looking at you two. You are the very portrait of him, and not so much in face as in soul.

You are both melancholy, both morose and hot-

tempered, both haughty and both generous…. Surely he can’t be an egoist, Dounia. Eh? When I think of what is in store for us this evening, my heart sinks!’

‘Don’t be uneasy, mother. What must be, will be.’

‘Dounia, only think what a position we are in! What if Pyotr Petrovitch breaks it off?’ poor Pulcheria Alexandrovna blurted out, incautiously.

‘He won’t be worth much if he does,’ answered

Dounia, sharply and contemptuously.

‘We did well to come away,’ Pulcheria Alexandrovna hurriedly broke in. ‘He was in a hurry about some business or other. If he gets out and has a breath of air …

it is fearfully close in his room…. But where is one to get a breath of air here? The very streets here feel like shut-up rooms. Good heavens! what a town! … stay … this side

… they will crush you—carrying something. Why, it is a piano they have got, I declare … how they push! … I am very much afraid of that young woman, too.’

‘What young woman, mother?

‘Why, that Sofya Semyonovna, who was there just now.’

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‘Why?’

‘I have a presentiment, Dounia. Well, you may believe it or not, but as soon as she came in, that very minute, I felt that she was the chief cause of the trouble….’

‘Nothing of the sort!’ cried Dounia, in vexation. ‘What nonsense, with your presentiments, mother! He only made her acquaintance the evening before, and he did not know her when she came in.’

‘Well, you will see…. She worries me; but you will see, you will see! I was so frightened. She was gazing at me with those eyes. I could scarcely sit still in my chair when he began introducing her, do you remember? It seems so strange, but Pyotr Petrovitch writes like that about her, and he introduces her to us—to you! So he must think a great deal of her.’

‘People will write anything. We were talked about and written about, too. Have you forgotten? I am sure that she is a good girl, and that it is all nonsense.’

‘God grant it may be!’

‘And Pyotr Petrovitch is a contemptible slanderer,’

Dounia snapped out, suddenly.

Pulcheria Alexandrovna was crushed; the conversation was not resumed.

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*****

 

Raskolnikov, drawing Razumihin to the window.

‘Then I will tell Katerina Ivanovna that you are coming,’ Sonia said hurriedly, preparing to depart.

‘One minute, Sofya Semyonovna. We have no secrets.

You are not in our way. I want to have another word or two with you. Listen!’ he turned suddenly to Razumihin again. ‘You know that … what’s his name … Porfiry Petrovitch?’

‘I should think so! He is a relation. Why?’ added the latter, with interest.

‘Is not he managing that case … you know, about that murder? … You were speaking about it yesterday.’

‘Yes … well?’ Razumihin’s eyes opened wide.

‘He was inquiring for people who had pawned things, and I have some pledges there, too—trifles—a ring my sister gave me as a keepsake when I left home, and my father’s silver watch—they are only worth five or six roubles altogether … but I value them. So what am I to do now? I do not want to lose the things, especially the watch. I was quaking just now, for fear mother would ask to look at it, when we spoke of Dounia’s watch. It is the 435 of 967

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only thing of father’s left us. She would be ill if it were lost. You know what women are. So tell me what to do. I know I ought to have given notice at the police station, but would it not be better to go straight to Porfiry? Eh?

What do you think? The matter might be settled more quickly. You see, mother may ask for it before dinner.’

‘Certainly not to the police station. Certainly to Porfiry,’ Razumihin shouted in extraordinary excitement.

‘Well, how glad I am. Let us go at once. It is a couple of steps. We shall be sure to find him.’

‘Very well, let us go.’

‘And he will be very, very glad to make your

acquaintance. I have often talked to him of you at different times. I was speaking of you yesterday. Let us go.

So you knew the old woman? So that’s it! It is all turning out splendidly…. Oh, yes, Sofya Ivanovna …’

‘Sofya Semyonovna,’ corrected Raskolnikov. ‘Sofya Semyonovna, this is my friend Razumihin, and he is a good man.’

‘If you have to go now,’ Sonia was beginning, not looking at Razumihin at all, and still more embarrassed.

‘Let us go,’ decided Raskolnikov. ‘I will come to you to-day, Sofya Semyonovna. Only tell me where you live.’

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He was not exactly ill at ease, but seemed hurried, and avoided her eyes. Sonia gave her address, and flushed as she did so. They all went out together.

‘Don’t you lock up?’ asked Razumihin, following him on to the stairs.

‘Never,’ answered Raskolnikov. ‘I have been meaning to buy a lock for these two years. People are happy who have no need of locks,’ he said, laughing, to Sonia. They