But Zheltkov did not so much as glance at him, although he had heard him.
Instead he asked Prince Vasily Lvovich,
"Would you mind my leaving you for ten minutes?
I'll admit that I'm going to speak to Princess Vera Nikolayevna on the telephone.
I assure you I will report to you as much of the conversation as I can."
"All right," said Sheyin.
Left alone with his brother-in-law, Nikolai Nikolayevich set upon him at once.
"This won't do," he shouted, his right hand as usual throwing down some invisible object from his chest. "This just won't do.
I warned you I would take care of the matter.
But you turned sloppy and gave him a chance to enlarge on his feelings.
I'd have put everything in two words."
"Wait," said Prince Vasily Lvovich, "everything will be cleared up in a moment.
The important thing is, I think he has the face of a man who is unable to deceive or lie deliberately.
But is it his fault that he's in love? And how can you control a feeling like love, which people still can't account for?" He paused thoughtfully, and added, "I feel sorry for the man.
Moreover, I feel as if I'm looking at a tremendous tragedy of the soul, and I can't behave like a clown."
"I call that decadence," said Nikolai Nikolayevich.
Ten minutes later Zheltkov came back.
His eyes were shining and deep, as if they were filled with unshed tears.
And it was obvious that he had quite forgotten about his good manners, about who should sit where, and had stopped behaving like a gentleman.
And once again Prince Sheyin understood the reason with great sensitiveness.
"I'm ready," he said. "From tomorrow you'll hear nothing more of me.
For you, I'm as good as dead.
But there's one condition — I say this to you, Prince Vasily Lvovich — I've embezzled money and I must fly from this town anyway.
Will you permit me to write a last letter to Princess Vera Nikolayevna?"
"No.
If it's finished, it's finished.
No letters!" shouted Nikolai Nikolayevich.
"All right, you may," said Sheyin.
"That's all," said Zheltkov, smiling haughtily. "You'll hear no more of me, let alone see me.
Princess Vera Nikolayevna didn't want to speak to me at all.
When I asked her if I might remain in town so as to see her at least occasionally — without being seen by her, of course — she said,
'If only you knew how tired I am of the whole business!
Please stop it as soon as you can.'
And so I'm stopping the whole business.
I think I've done all I could, haven't I?"
Coming back to the villa that evening, Vasily Lvovich told his wife in detail about his interview with Zheltkov.
He seemed to feel it was his duty to do that.
Vera was worried, but not surprised or bewildered.
Later that night, when her husband came into her bed, she suddenly turned away to the wall and said,
"Leave me alone — I know that man is going to kill himself."
XI
Princess Vera Nikolayevna never read the newspapers because, firstly, they dirtied her hands, and, secondly, she could never make head or tail of the language which they use nowadays.
But fate willed it that she should open the page and come upon the column which carried this news:
"A Mysterious Death.
G. S. Zheltkov, an employee of the Board of Control, committed suicide about seven o'clock last night.
According to evidence given at the inquest, his death was prompted by an embezzlement He left a note to that effect.
Since testimony furnished by witnesses has established that he died by his own hand, it has been decided not to order a post-mortem."
Vera thought,
"Why did I feel it was coming?
Precisely this tragic finale?