where he whispered something quickly to him,
apparently something very important to judge by the expression of
his face and the gestures that accompanied the whisper. Nikolay
Vsyevolodovitch listened inattentively and listlessly with his official
smile, and at last even impatiently, and seemed all the time on the
point of breaking away. He moved away from the window just as the ladies
came back. Varvara Petrovna made Liza sit down in the same seat as
before, declaring that she must wait and rest another ten minutes; and
that the fresh air would perhaps be too much for her nerves at once.
She was looking after Liza with great devotion, and sat down beside
her. Pyotr Stepanovitch, now disengaged, skipped up to them at once,
and broke into a rapid and lively flow of conversation. At that point
Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch at last went up to Darya Pavlovna with his
leisurely step. Dasha began stirring uneasily at his approach, and
jumped up quickly in evident embarrassment, flushing all over her face.

"I believe one may congratulate you... or is it too soon?" he brought
out with a peculiar line in his face.

Dasha made him some answer, but it was difficult to catch it.

"Forgive my indiscretion," he added, raising his voice, "but you know I
was expressly informed. Did you know about it?"

"Yes, I know that you were expressly informed."

"But I hope I have not done any harm by my congratulations," he laughed.
"And if Stepan Trofimovitch..."

"What, what's the congratulation about?" Pyotr Stepanovitch suddenly
skipped up to them. "What are you being congratulated about, Darya
Pavlovna? Bah! Surely that's not it? Your blush proves I've guessed
right. And indeed, what else does one congratulate our charming and
virtuous young ladies on? And what congratulations make them blush most
readily? Well, accept mine too, then, if I've guessed right! And pay
up. Do you remember when we were in Switzerland you bet you'd never be
married.... Oh, yes, apropos of Switzerland--what am I thinking about?
Only fancy, that's half what I came about, and I was almost forgetting
it. Tell me," he turned quickly to Stepan Trofimovitch, "when are you
going to Switzerland?"

"I... to Switzerland?" Stepan Trofimovitch replied, wondering and
confused.

"What? Aren't you going? Why you're getting married, too, you wrote?"

_"Pierre!"_ cried Stepan Trofimovitch.

"Well, why Pierre?... You see, if that'll please you, I've flown here to
announce tha