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He wondered, but could not make out her object in doing so. To tell the truth, he was little concerned about the object. Madame Sipiagina went on to speak of Kolia, and assured Nejdanov that she wished to become better acquainted with him only so that she might talk to him seriously about her son, get to know his views on the education of Russian children.
I'll go and " "Don't bother, don't bother." Solomin opened the door. "Pavel!" he shouted down the dark staircase, "run and fetch the things from the cart!" "All right!" answered the never-failing Pavel. Solomin turned to Mariana, who had taken off her shawl and was unfastening her cloak. "Did everything go off happily?" he asked. "Quite... not a soul saw us. I left a letter for Madame Sipiagina.
By a new arrangement of Madame Sipiagina, Nejdanov was not put next to Mariana as usual, but between Anna Zaharovna and Sipiagin. The dinner was excellently served; there was even a "menu" a painted card lay before each person. Directly soup was finished, Sipiagin again brought the conversation round to his factory, and from there went on to Russian manufacture in general.
The evening went very slowly; fortunately dinner was not over until late and not very long remained before bedtime. Kollomietzev was sulky and said nothing. "What is the matter with you?" Madame Sipiagina asked half-jestingly. "Have you lost anything?" "Yes, I have," Kollomietzev replied.
Mariana's pallor increased. "I must ask you to express yourself more clearly, Valentina Mihailovna. What is it you are displeased about?" "L'insolente!" Madame Sipiagina thought, but contained herself. "Do you want to know why I am displeased with you, Mariana?
Kollomietzev forgot to add that this old man, when put into prison, refused to take any food and starved himself to death. "And your new tutor," Kollomietzev went on zealously, "is a revolutionist, without a shadow of a doubt! Have you noticed that he is never the first to bow to anyone?" "Why should he?" Madame Sipiagina asked; "on the contrary, that is what I like about him."
On the following day, soon after he had finished his lesson and was sitting in the billiard room, Madame Sipiagina entered, looked round cautiously, and coming up to him with a smile, invited him to come into her boudoir. She had on a white barege dress, very simple, but extremely pretty.
"There is a story about a certain officer in the lifeguards who was very much grieved that his soldiers had lost a sock of his. 'Find me my sock! he would say to them, and I say, find me the word 'sir! The word 'sir' is lost, and with it every sense of respect towards rank!" Madame Sipiagina informed Kollomietzev that she would not help him in the search.
What a charming picture! And the mistress herself, Valentina Mihailovna Sipiagina, put the finishing touch to it, gave it meaning and life. She was a tall woman of about thirty, with dark brown hair, a fresh dark complexion, resembling the Sistine Madonna, with wonderfully deep, velvety eyes.
Madame Sipiagina was the first to stop, and drumming her finger-tips on the back of a chair began in a free and easy tone: "Mariana Vikentievna, it seems that we have entered upon a correspondence with one another... Living under the same roof as we do it strikes me as being rather strange. And you know I am not very fond of strange things."
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