"No! A dispensation has been granted for our marriage."
Springing from her divan, the Princess gasped:
"Impossible! Impossible!"
Pushkin retained his seat. He was not easily frightened by any man—or woman either. So he answered, calmly:
"But, my dear Princess, what objection can you have to it?"
Korynthia saw that she had suffered her impetuosity to carry her too far. So, commanding herself, she resumed her seat and made as if fanning herself from the heat.
"He who advised you to this was no friend of yours!" she hissed out.
"It was the Czar!"
Korynthia, shutting her fan, put it to her lips. After a short silence she said:
"You know, then, that the Czar is Sophie's father?"