But before she reached the front hall, she suddenly came back, quickly went up to Nina Alexandrovna, took her hand, and brought it to her lips.
"He guessed right, in fact, I'm not like that," she whispered quickly, fervently, suddenly flushing and becoming all red, and, turning around, she went out so quickly this time that no one managed to figure out why she had come back.
They only saw that she whispered something to Nina Alexandrovna and seemed to kiss her hand.
But Varya saw and heard everything, and in astonishment followed her with her eyes.
Ganya came to his senses and rushed to see Nastasya Filippovna off, but she had already gone out.
He caught up with her on the stairs.
"Don't see me off!" she called to him.
"Good-bye, till this evening!
Without fail, you hear!"
He came back confused, pensive; a heavy riddle lay on his soul, still heavier than before.
The prince, too, was on his mind . . . He was so oblivious that he barely noticed how the whole Rogozhin crowd poured past him and even jostled him in the doorway, quickly making their way out of the apartment after Rogozhin.
They were all discussing something in loud voices.
Rogozhin himself walked with Ptitsyn, insistently repeating something very important and apparently urgent.
"The game's up, Ganka!" he cried, passing by.
Ganya anxiously watched him leave.
XI
The prince left the drawing room and shut himself up in his room.
Kolya immediately came running to comfort him.
It seemed the poor boy was no longer able to leave him alone.
"It's a good thing you left," he said. "There'll be worse turmoil there than before, and it's like that every day, and it all started because of this Nastasya Filippovna."
"You've got many different hurts accumulated here, Kolya," the prince observed.
"Hurts, yes.
There's no point talking about us, though.
It's our own fault.
But I have a great friend here who's even more unhappy.
Would you like to meet him?"
"Very much.
A comrade of yours?"
"Yes, almost like a comrade.
I'll explain it all to you later . . . And Nastasya Filippovna is beautiful, don't you think?
I never even saw her till today, though I tried hard to.
Really dazzling.
I'd forgive Ganka everything if he loved her; but why he's taking money, that's the trouble!"
"Yes, I don't much like your brother."
"Well, what else!
For you, after . . . But you know, I can't stand these different opinions.
Some madman, or fool, or villain in a mad state, gives a slap in the face, and the man is dishonored for the rest of his life and can't wash it off except with blood, or if the other one begs forgiveness on his knees.
I think it's absurd and despotism.
Lermontov's play The Masquerade35 is based on it and— stupidly so, in my opinion.
That is, I mean to say, it's unnatural.
But he wrote it when he was almost still a child."
"I like your sister very much."
"How she spat in Ganka's mug!
Brave Varka!
But you didn't spit, and I'm sure it's not from lack of courage.
Ah, here she is herself, speak of the devil.
I knew she'd come: she's noble, though she has some shortcomings."
"You have no business here," Varya fell upon him first of all. "Go to your father.
Is he bothering you, Prince?"
"Not at all, on the contrary."