"She's repapered the rooms most damnably," he exclaimed, "one piece doesn't match another. When you open the dining-room door you find quite another pattern. Most of the room has bunches of large and small flowers, while behind the door there is a pattern of stripes and nails. And the colours are different too. We shouldn't have noticed it, if Falastov had not come and laughed. And everybody laughs at it."
"It certainly must be ridiculous," agreed Vershina.
"We're not telling her that we're going to leave," said Peredonov, and at this he lowered his voice. "We're going to find new apartments and we shall go without giving notice."
"Of course," said Vershina.
"Or else she'll make a row," said Peredonov, with a touch of anxiety in his eyes. "That means that we should have to pay her a month's rent for her beastly hole."
Peredonov laughed with joy at the thought of leaving the house without paying.
"She's bound to make a demand," observed Vershina.
"Let her—she won't get anything out of me," replied Peredonov angrily.
"We went to Peter[1] and we made no use of the house while we were away."
"But you had rented it."