"That's true enough," said Peredonov, "but how can I spit in her eyes? She'll complain to the Princess and I shan't get the place."
"And why do you want the place? You're good enough without the place," said Valeria.
"Yes, but how can I live if I don't get it?" said Peredonov dejectedly.
Darya stuck into Volodin's hand a letter with a red seal on it. Volodin unsealed the letter, bleating happily, read it and lapsed into thought—he looked proud and a little flurried. It was written briefly and clearly:
"Come, my darling, and meet me to-morrow night at eleven o'clock at the Soldiers' Baths. Your unknown J."
Volodin believed in the letter, but the question was—was it worth going? And who was this "J"? Was it some sort of Jenny? Or was it the surname which began with "J"?
Volodin showed the letter to Routilov.
"Go, of course go," Routilov urged him, "and see what happens. Perhaps it's some rich catch, who's fallen in love with you and the parents are against it, so she's taken this way of speaking to you."
But Volodin thought and thought and decided that it was not worth while going. He said with an important air: