NICHOLAS IVÁNOVICH. That's not necessary, Alína. I don't really want any, and I'll drink it as it is.
Missy, on seeing her father, leaves her croquet, runs to him, and hangs round his neck.
MISSY. Papa! Come with me.
NICHOLAS IVÁNOVICH [caressing her]. Yes, I'll come directly. Just let me eat something first. Go and play, and I'll soon come.
Exit Missy.
Nicholas Ivánovich sits down to the table, and eats and drinks eagerly.
ALEXÁNDRA IVÁNOVNA. Well, were they sentenced?
NICHOLAS IVÁNOVICH. Yes! They were. They themselves pleaded guilty. [To Priest] I thought you would not find Renan very convincing …
ALEXÁNDRA IVÁNOVNA. And you did not approve of the verdict?
NICHOLAS IVÁNOVICH [vexed]. Of course I don't approve of it. [To Priest] The main question for you is not Christ's divinity, or the history of Christianity, but the Church …