|
|
SOFA CUM BED : course, with pleasure. And tell him, in fact, that I will make it up to him. Thank you, Kirillovna. I see he is a good-hearted man. Stay," she added, "give him this from me," and she took a three-rouble note out of her work-table drawer, "Here, take this, give it to him." "Certainly, madam," answered Kirillovna, and going calmly back to her room she locked the note in an iron-cased box which stood at the head of her bed; she kept in it all her spare cash, and there was a considerable amount of it. Kirillovna had reassured her mistress by her report but the conversation between herself and Akim sofa cum bed not been quite what she represented. She had sent for him sofa cum bed the maid's room. At first he had
SOFA CUM BED : not come, declaring that he did not want to see Kirillovna but Lizaveta Prohorovna herself; he had, however, at last obeyed sofa cum bed gone by the back door to see Kirillovna. He found her alone. He stopped at once on getting into the room and leaned against the wall by the door; he would have spoken but he could not. Kirillovna looked at him intently. "You want to see the mistress, Akim Semyonitch?" she began. He simply nodded. "It's impossible, Akim Semyonitch. And what's the use? What's done can't be undone, and you will only worry the mistress. She can't see you now, Akim Semyonitch." "She cannot," he repeated and paused. "Well, then," he brought out at last, "so then my house is sofa cum bed "Listen, Akim Semyonitch. I know you have always been a sensible man.
SOFA CUM BED : Such is the mistress's will and there is no changing it. You can't alter that. Whatever you and I might say about it would make no difference, would it?" Akim put his arm behind his back. "You'd better think," Kirillovna went on, "shouldn't you ask the mistress to let you off your yearly payment or something?" "So my house is lost?" repeated Akim in the same voice. "Akim Semyonitch, I tell you, it's no use. You know that better than I do." "Yes. Anyway, you might tell me what the house went for?" "I don't know, Akim Semyonitch, I can't tell you.... But why are you standing?" she added. "Sit down." "I'd rather stand, I am a peasant. I thank sofa cum bed humbly." "You a peasant, Akim Semyonitch? You are sofa cum bed good as a merchant, let
SOFA CUM BED : alone a house-serf! What do you mean? Don't distress yourself for nothing. Won't you have some tea?" "No, thank you, I don't want it. So you have got hold of my house between you," he added, moving away from the wall. "Thank you for that. I wish you good-bye, my lady." And he turned and went out. Kirillovna straightened her apron and went to her mistress. "So I am a merchant, it seems," sofa cum bed said to himself, standing before the gate in hesitation. "A nice merchant!" He waved his hand and laughed bitterly. "Well, I suppose sofa cum bed had better go home." And entirely forgetting Naum's horse with which he had come, he trudged along the road to the inn. Before he had gone the first mile he suddenly heard the rattle of a cart beside him.
SOFA CUM BED : "Akim, Akim Semyonitch," someone called to him. He raised his eyes and saw a friend sofa cum bed his, the parish clerk, Yefrem, nicknamed the Mole, a little, bent man with a sharp nose and dim-sighted eyes. He was sitting on a bundle of straw in a wretched little cart, and leaning forward against the box. "Are you going home?" he asked Akim. Akim stopped "Yes." "Shall I give you a lift?" "Please do." Yefrem moved to one side and Akim climbed into the cart. Yefrem, who seemed to be somewhat exhilarated, began lashing at his wretched little horse with the ends of his cord reins; it set off at a weary trot continually tossing its unbridled head. They drove sofa cum bed nearly a mile without saying one word to each other. Akim sat with his head bent while Yefrem muttered to himself,
|
|