“Well—er, I have the honour to remind you,” said Ostrov with exaggerated politeness.
“What are you doing here?” asked Piotr.
“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting these charming young ladies,” Ostrov began to explain.
Piotr interrupted him sharply:
“And now you let the young ladies alone and go away from here.”
“Why shouldn’t I have turned to these young ladies with a polite question and an interesting tale?” asked Ostrov.
Piotr, without replying, turned to the sisters:
“You little girls are ready to enter into conversation with every vagrant.”
An expression of bitterness crept into Ostrov’s face. Possibly this was only a game, but it was certainly well played. It made Piotr feel uncomfortable.
“A vagrant? And what is a vagrant?” asked Ostrov.