"And you, barin; are you from Tugilovo?"
"Exactly, I am the young gentleman's valet" (he wished to equalize their ranks). But Lisa looked at him and laughed.
"Ah! you are lying," she said. "I am not a fool. I see you are the master himself."
"What makes you think so?"
"Everything."
"Still——?"
"How can one help it. You are not dressed like a servant. You speak differently. You even call your dog in a foreign tongue."
Lisa charmed him more and more every moment. Accustomed to be unceremonious with pretty country girls, he tried to kiss her, but Lisa jumped aside, and suddenly assumed so distant and severe an air that though it amused him he did not attempt any further familiarities.
"If you wish to remain friends," she said, with dignity, "do not forget yourself."
"Who has taught you this wisdom?" asked Alexis, with a laugh. "Can it be my little friend Nastia, your mistress's maid? So this is how civilization spreads."