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“You only live, that’s all I want,” David repeated, dropping his voice and not taking his eyes off her. Raissa glanced quickly at him and flushed still more.

“You live and as for spelling, spell as you like…. Oh, the devil, the witch is coming!” (David called my aunt the witch.) “What ill-luck has brought her this way? You must go, darling.”

Raissa glanced at David once more and ran away.

David talked to me of Raissa and her family very rarely and unwillingly, especially from the time when he began to expect his father’s return. He thought of nothing but him and how we should live together afterwards. He had a vivid memory of him and used to describe him to me with particular pleasure.

“He is big and strong; he can lift three hundred-weight with one hand…. When he shouted: ‘Where’s the lad?’ he could be heard all over the house. He’s so jolly and kind … and a brave man! Nobody can intimidate him. We lived so happily together before we were ruined. They say he has gone quite grey, and in old days his hair was as red as mine. He was a strong man.”

David would never admit that we might remain in Ryazan.

“You will go away,” I observed, “but I shall stay.”

“Nonsense, we shall take you with us.”

“And how about my father?”

“You will cast off your father. You will be ruined if you don’t.”

“How so?”

David made me no answer but merely knitted his white brows.

“So when we go away with father,” he began again, “he will get a good situation and I shall marry.”

“Well, that won’t be just directly,” I said.

“No, why not? I shall marry soon.”

“You?”

“Yes, I; why not?”

“You haven’t fixed on your wife, I suppose.”

“Of course, I have.”

“Who is she?”

David laughed.

“What a senseless fellow you are, really? Raissa, of course.”

“Raissa!” I repeated in amazement; “you are joking!”

“I am not given to joking, and don’t like it.”

“Why, she is a year older than you are.”

“What of it? but let’s drop the subject.”

“Let me ask one question,” I said. “Does she know that you mean to marry her?”

“Most likely.”

“But haven’t you declared your feelings?”

“What is there to declare? When the time comes I shall tell her. Come, that’s enough.”

David got up and went out of the room. When I was alone, I pondered … and pondered … and came to the conclusion that David would act like a sensible and practical man; and indeed I felt flattered at the thought of being the friend of such a practical man!

And Raissa in her everlasting black woollen dress suddenly seemed to me charming and worthy of the most devoted love.

XV

David’s father still did not come and did not even send a letter. It had long been summer and June was drawing to its end. We were wearing ourselves out in suspense.

Meanwhile there began to be rumours that Latkin had suddenly become much worse, and that his family were likely to die of hunger or else the house would fall in and crush them all under the roof.

David’s face even looked changed and he became so ill-tempered and surly that there was no going near him. He began to be more often absent from home, too. I did not meet Raissa at all. From time to time, I caught a glimpse of her in the distance, rapidly crossing the street with her beautiful, light step, straight as an arrow, with her arms crossed, with her dark, clever eyes under her long brows, with an anxious expression on her pale, sweet face–that was all. My aunt with the help of her Trankvillitatin pitched into me as before, and as before reproachfully whispered in my ear: “You are a thief, sir, a thief!” But I took no notice of her; and my father was very busy, and occupied with his writing and driving all over the place and did not want to hear anything.