Naum bowed again and went out with Kirillovna. Lizaveta Prohorovna
walked up and down the room once or twice and rang the bell again.
This time a page appeared. She told him to fetch Kirillovna. A few
moments later Kirillovna came in with a faint creak of her new
goatskin shoes.
'Have you heard,' Lizaveta Prohorovna began with a forced laugh, 'what
this merchant has been proposing to me? He is a queer fellow, really!'
'No, I haven't heard. What is it, madam?' and Kirillovna faintly
screwed up her black Kalmuck eyes.
'He wants to buy Akim's inn.'
'Well, why not?'
'But how could he? What about Akim? I gave it to Akim.'
'Upon my word, madam, what are you saying? Isn't the inn yours? Don't
we all belong to you? And isn't all our property yours, our
mistress's?'
'Good gracious, Kirillovna, what are you saying?' Lizaveta Prohorovna
pulled out a batiste handkerchief and nervously blew her nose. 'Akim
bought the inn with his own money.'
'His own money? But where did he get the money? Wasn't it through your
kindness? He has had the use of the land all this time as it is. It
was all through your gracious permission. And do you suppose, madam,
that he would have no money left? Why, he is richer than you are, upon
my word, he is!'
'That's all true, of course, but still I can't do it.... How could I
sell the inn?'
'And why not sell it,' Kirillovna went on, 'since a purchaser has
luckily turned up? May I ask, madam, how much he offers you?'
'More than two thousand roubles,' said Lizaveta Prohorovna softly.
'He will give more, madam, if he offers two thousand straight off. And
you will arrange things with Akim afterwards; take a little off his
yearly duty or something. He will be thankful, too.'
'Of course, I must remit part of his duty. But no, Kirillovna, how can
I sell it?' and Lizaveta Prohorovna walked up and down the room. 'No,
that's out of the question, that won't do ... no, please don't speak
of it again ... or I shall be angry.'
But in spite of her agitated mistress's warning, Kirillovna did
continue speaking of it and half an hour later she went back to Naum,
whom she had left in the butler's pantry at the samovar.
'What have you to tell me, good madam?' said Naum, jauntily turning
his tea-cup wrong side upwards in the saucer.
'What I have to tell you is that you are to go in to the mistress; she
wants you.'
'Certainly,' said Naum, and he got up and followed Kirillovna into the
drawing-room.
The door closed behind them.... When the door opened again and Naum
walked out backwards, bowing, the matter was settled: Akim's inn
belonged to him. He had bought it for 2800 paper roubles. It was
arranged that the legal formalities should take place as quickly as
possible and that till then the matter should not be made public.
Lizaveta Prohorovna received a deposit of a hundred roubles and two
hundred went to Kirillovna for her assistance. 'It has not cost me
much,' thought Naum as he got into his coat, 'it was a lucky chance.'
While the transaction we have described was going forward in the
mistress's house, Akim was sitting at home alone on the bench by the
window, stroking his beard with a discontented expression. We have
said already that he did not suspect his wife's feeling for Naum,
although kind friends had more than once hinted to him that it was
time he opened his eyes; it is true that he had noticed himself that
of late his wife had become rather difficult, but we all know that the
