"'Something which I do not fancy,'" commented Arkady. "Yes, you are of the same blood as Anna Sergievna: you are as independent as she, and you are even more secretive. In fact, however deep-rooted and sacred a stock of sentiments you might hold, you would never, of your own accord, give them utterance."
"Of course! How could you suppose anything else?"
"Also, you are clever, and have a measure of character equal to, if not greater than, hers."
"I dislike being compared with my sister. You seem to have forgotten that she is both 'beautiful' and 'intellectual' and—— Moreover, you, above all people, ought not to say anything to her disparagement, and still less to say it seriously."
"Why 'you, above all people'? Do you think that I am jesting?"
"I am certain of it."
"Indeed? But what if I were to say that I really mean my words? What if I were to say that, if anything, I have under-expressed what is in my mind?"
"I fail to follow you."
"Do you? Your quickness of perception has been overrated."
"Why has it?"