Other
Read books online Ā» Other Ā» Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky (e books for reading .TXT) šŸ“–

Book online Ā«Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky (e books for reading .TXT) šŸ“–Ā». Author Fyodor Dostoevsky



1 ... 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 ... 201
Go to page:
whispered to her, ā€œI donā€™t want Rodion Romanovitch to know of our meeting. I must tell you Iā€™ve been sitting with him in the restaurant close by, where he looked me up and I had great difficulty in getting rid of him. He has somehow heard of my letter to you and suspects something. It wasnā€™t you who told him, of course, but if not you, who then?ā€

ā€œWell, weā€™ve turned the corner now,ā€ Dounia interrupted, ā€œand my brother wonā€™t see us. I have to tell you that I am going no further with you. Speak to me here. You can tell it all in the street.ā€

ā€œIn the first place, I canā€™t say it in the street; secondly, you must hear Sofya Semyonovna too; and, thirdly, I will show you some papers.ā ā€Šā ā€¦ Oh well, if you wonā€™t agree to come with me, I shall refuse to give any explanation and go away at once. But I beg you not to forget that a very curious secret of your beloved brotherā€™s is entirely in my keeping.ā€

Dounia stood still, hesitating, and looked at SvidrigaĆÆlov with searching eyes.

ā€œWhat are you afraid of?ā€ he observed quietly. ā€œThe town is not the country. And even in the country you did me more harm than I did you.ā€

ā€œHave you prepared Sofya Semyonovna?ā€

ā€œNo, I have not said a word to her and am not quite certain whether she is at home now. But most likely she is. She has buried her stepmother today: she is not likely to go visiting on such a day. For the time I donā€™t want to speak to anyone about it and I half regret having spoken to you. The slightest indiscretion is as bad as betrayal in a thing like this. I live there in that house, we are coming to it. Thatā€™s the porter of our houseā ā€”he knows me very well; you see, heā€™s bowing; he sees Iā€™m coming with a lady and no doubt he has noticed your face already and you will be glad of that if you are afraid of me and suspicious. Excuse my putting things so coarsely. I havenā€™t a flat to myself; Sofya Semyonovnaā€™s room is next to mineā ā€”she lodges in the next flat. The whole floor is let out in lodgings. Why are you frightened like a child? Am I really so terrible?ā€

SvidrigaĆÆlovā€™s lips were twisted in a condescending smile; but he was in no smiling mood. His heart was throbbing and he could scarcely breathe. He spoke rather loud to cover his growing excitement. But Dounia did not notice this peculiar excitement, she was so irritated by his remark that she was frightened of him like a child and that he was so terrible to her.

ā€œThough I know that you are not a manā ā€Šā ā€¦ of honour, I am not in the least afraid of you. Lead the way,ā€ she said with apparent composure, but her face was very pale.

SvidrigaĆÆlov stopped at Soniaā€™s room.

ā€œAllow me to inquire whether she is at home.ā ā€Šā ā€¦ She is not. How unfortunate! But I know she may come quite soon. If sheā€™s gone out, it can only be to see a lady about the orphans. Their mother is dead.ā ā€Šā ā€¦ Iā€™ve been meddling and making arrangements for them. If Sofya Semyonovna does not come back in ten minutes, I will send her to you, today if you like. This is my flat. These are my two rooms. Madame Resslich, my landlady, has the next room. Now, look this way. I will show you my chief piece of evidence: this door from my bedroom leads into two perfectly empty rooms, which are to let. Here they areā ā€Šā ā€¦ You must look into them with some attention.ā€

SvidrigaĆÆlov occupied two fairly large furnished rooms. Dounia was looking about her mistrustfully, but saw nothing special in the furniture or position of the rooms. Yet there was something to observe, for instance, that SvidrigaĆÆlovā€™s flat was exactly between two sets of almost uninhabited apartments. His rooms were not entered directly from the passage, but through the landladyā€™s two almost empty rooms. Unlocking a door leading out of his bedroom, SvidrigaĆÆlov showed Dounia the two empty rooms that were to let. Dounia stopped in the doorway, not knowing what she was called to look upon, but SvidrigaĆÆlov hastened to explain.

ā€œLook here, at this second large room. Notice that door, itā€™s locked. By the door stands a chair, the only one in the two rooms. I brought it from my rooms so as to listen more conveniently. Just the other side of the door is Sofya Semyonovnaā€™s table; she sat there talking to Rodion Romanovitch. And I sat here listening on two successive evenings, for two hours each timeā ā€”and of course I was able to learn something, what do you think?ā€

ā€œYou listened?ā€

ā€œYes, I did. Now come back to my room; we canā€™t sit down here.ā€

He brought Avdotya Romanovna back into his sitting-room and offered her a chair. He sat down at the opposite side of the table, at least seven feet from her, but probably there was the same glow in his eyes which had once frightened Dounia so much. She shuddered and once more looked about her distrustfully. It was an involuntary gesture; she evidently did not wish to betray her uneasiness. But the secluded position of SvidrigaĆÆlovā€™s lodging had suddenly struck her. She wanted to ask whether his landlady at least were at home, but pride kept her from asking. Moreover, she had another trouble in her heart incomparably greater than fear for herself. She was in great distress.

ā€œHere is your letter,ā€ she said, laying it on the table. ā€œCan it be true what you write? You hint at a crime committed, you say, by my brother. You hint at it too clearly; you darenā€™t deny it now. I must tell you that Iā€™d heard of this stupid story before you wrote and donā€™t believe a word of it. Itā€™s a disgusting and ridiculous suspicion. I know the story and why and how it was invented.

1 ... 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 ... 201
Go to page:

Free ebook Ā«Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky (e books for reading .TXT) šŸ“–Ā» - read online now

Comments (0)

There are no comments yet. You can be the first!
Add a comment