"Ah, what a coward you are! You're afraid of an old woman. You'd better go when she's at home and take him out for a walk."
Liudmilla followed this advice and began to call at odd times. If she found Kokovkina at home she would sit with her for a while and then take Sasha out for a walk, in which case she always kept him for a short time only.
Liudmilla and Sasha became friends with a gentle yet not tranquil friendship. Without noticing it herself Liudmilla had awakened in Sasha premature though as yet vague inclinations and desires. Sasha often kissed Liudmilla's hands and her thin, supple wrists, covered with a soft elastic skin; through her thin yellow sleeve showed her frail, sinuous, blue veins. And above were her long slender arms which could be kissed to the very elbows when the sleeves were pushed back.
Sasha sometimes concealed from Kokovkina the fact that Liudmilla had been to the house. He didn't lie about it, but he kept silent. It was impossible for him to lie—as the maid-servant could easily have contradicted him. And to remain silent about Liudmilla's visits was also difficult for Sasha: Liudmilla's laughter echoed in his ears. He wanted to talk about her. But to talk about her was somehow awkward.
Sasha quickly made friends with the other sisters also. He would kiss their hands and soon even began to call the girls "Dashenka," "Liudmillotchka" and "Valerotchka."
[1] "Doosheet" means "to scent" and also "to suffocate."
[2] There is a pun here. The phrase "ti zhelayesh" means, "You like, you want it." When split into three words, "ti zhe layesh," it means, "You do bark."
[CHAPTER XVII]
Liudmilla met Sasha one day in the street and said to him: