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"I am not worrying at all, Tatiana Osipovna," Mariana interrupted her. "Alexai Dmitritch is a little indisposed, nothing very serious!" "That's all right! I wondered why you didn't come, and thought there might be something the matter with you. But still I wouldn't have come in to you. It's always best not to interfere.
"Then I shall call you Tatiana Osipovna." "And I'll call you Mariana Vikentievna. That will be splendid." "Won't you take a cup of tea with us, Tatiana Osipovna?" "For once I will, Mariana Vikentievna, although Egoritch will scold me afterwards." "Who is Egoritch?" "Pavel, my husband." "Sit down, Tatiana Osipovna." "Thank you, Mariana Vikentievna."
When she came the seventh time he took out of his pocket an envelope with seven roubles in it, and holding it in his hand, became very confused and began: "Excuse me, Alice Osipovna, but I ought to tell you . . . I'm under painful necessity . . ."
Someone came into the parlour as noiselessly as a shadow and stood still near the door. It was Lyubov Osipovna, Zhmuhin's wife. "Are you from the town?" she asked timidly, not looking at her visitor. "Yes, I live in the town." "Perhaps you are something in the learned way, sir; be so kind as to advise us. We ought to send in a petition." "To whom?" asked the visitor.
"Are you asleep?" "No," answered the visitor. Zhmuhin got up, and thudding with his heels walked through the parlour and the entry to the kitchen to get a drink of water. "The worst thing in the world, you know, is stupidity," he said a little later, coming back with a dipper. "My Lyubov Osipovna is on her knees saying her prayers.
And the farther you hold it away from yourself the better it will look." Nejdanov took the staff without a word and went out. Tatiana wanted to go out too, but Mariana stopped her. "Wait a minute, Tatiana Osipovna. I want you." "I'll be back directly with the samovar. Your friend has gone off without tea, he was in such a mighty hurry. But that is no reason why you should not have any.
"Don't pester our guest with your wild talk. Go away, mother!" Lyubov Osipovna went out, and in the entry repeated once more in a thin little voice: "Oh, it's such a pity!" A bed was made up for the visitor on the sofa in the parlour, and that it might not be dark for him they lighted the lamp before the ikon. Zhmuhin went to bed in his own room.
For Mariana it was all so new, but it seemed to him that he had seen crowds of women like Tatiana and spoken to them hundreds of times. "Do you know, Tatiana Osipovna?" Mariana began at last; "you think that we want to teach the people, but we want to serve them." "Serve them? Teach them; that's the best thing you can do for them. Look at me, for instance.
Her face looked as cold and business-like as the face of a person who has come to speak about money. She did not once smile or frown, and only once a look of perplexity flitted over her face when she learnt that she was not required to teach children, but a stout grown-up man. "So, Alice Osipovna," said Vorotov, "we'll have a lesson every evening from seven to eight.
She introduced herself as a teacher of French, Alice Osipovna Enquête, and told Vorotov that she had been sent to him by one of his friends. "Delighted! "It was Pyotr Sergeitch sent you? Yes, yes . . . I asked him about it. Delighted!" As he talked to Mdlle. Enquête he looked at her shyly and with curiosity. She was a genuine Frenchwoman, very elegant and still quite young.
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