All the ladies appeared now to be utterly displeased with the conduct of Tchichikoff. One of them passed him purposely to make him feel her displeasure, and touched even, as if inadvertently, the fair blondine with the hem of her dress, and as for the long scarf which graced her shoulders, she even contrived to touch with its silken tassels the face of the fair girl; at the same moment he heard behind him an observation made by some fair lips, mingled with the perfumes of violets, which were far from being agreeable; but, on the contrary, stung him to the quick. But, he either did not hear the remarks distinctly, or pretended not to have heard them, besides they were far from being in his favour; he, therefore, thought it best to respect their opinion and remain silent, though he regretted it immediately after, but then it had become too late.
A general dissatisfaction, and in many respects very justifiable one, indeed, became visible on many faces. However important the weight of Tchichikoff might have been in that society, and though he was considered a millionaire, and though his face betrayed a high amount of talent, and his countenance even something martial, yet there are trifles for which a lady forgives no one; were he even the Emperor of Russia himself of gallant memory, he might consider himself a lost man. There are instances, when a woman, however weak and feeble in comparison with a man, becomes suddenly not only stronger than a man, but even more powerful than anything on the face of the earth.
The sudden change in Tchichikoff's conduct towards the other ladies, which they considered unheard of before, determined them on forming a league among themselves against him, and which they concluded for his ruin, behind the chair on which he was sitting. The fact was, that they thought they had discovered in a few of the observations he addressed to his fair partner, though they were dry and commonplace enough, remarks that concerned them personally. To complete his disgrace with them, he had the misfortune to relate to her an anecdote about an event that had happened at a ball in another province, on which occasion some young fool had composed a whole poem in honour of the ridiculous persons who had happened to be present at that particular ball, and from which poem he recited a few passages on the dancing assembly.
These verses were at once, and blindly, supposed to be the composition of Tchichikoff himself. The general dissatisfaction with him rose, if possible, to a still higher degree, and the ladies began to speak of him in various corners in the most disadvantageous terms indeed; as for the fair blondine, she was completely annihilated, and her doom was sealed at once.
Meanwhile, a most unexpected and unpleasant catastrophe threatened the laurels of our hero; at the time, when the fair blonde was yawning, and he exerting himself to relate to her the most pleasant of his reminiscences, and trying even to imitate the Greek philosopher Diogenes; at that moment, and at the extremest end of the saloon, who should make his appearance but Nosdrieff. But where did he come from, was it from the refreshment-room, or from the small green room where gambling was carried on without limit. Did he enter freely of his own accord, or was he thrust forward by some one, or by fatality herself?
Whatever brought him there is impossible for us to tell, but the fact is that he made his appearance quite suddenly and in the best humour of the world; he seemed exceedingly pleased and gay, and held the arm of the Procurator firmly in his own, which caused the other to frown repeatedly with his thick and heavy eyebrows, as if trying to hit upon a scheme by which to escape from this strong grasp and this too friendly arm-in-arm promenade.
The position of the Procurator appeared to be perfectly unbearable. Nosdrieff, who seemed to have imbibed considerable courage from two cups of tea, which of course he had not swallowed without a considerable addition of rum, began as usual to tell the most incredible stories. On perceiving him at a distance, Tchichikoff determined at once, though with great regret, to give up his enviable seat, and hasten away as quickly as possible; because an internal feeling told him that this encounter would have fatal consequences.
But as if to confirm his presentiment, in that very instant his Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant prevented him carrying out his intention as he turned towards him and remarked good-humouredly, that he was very glad to meet his friend Pavel Ivanovitch, whom he wished to be a judge between himself and two ladies, to decide the question, whether woman's love was permanent or not; at that same moment Nosdrieff also caught sight of our hero, and came straight up to him.
"Ah, the gentleman from Kherson, the Chersonese slave-owner!" he exclaimed, as he approached and burst out into a fit of laughter which made his fresh, rosy-coloured cheeks tremble, "Well, how many more dead men have you acquired? But your Excellency does not perhaps know," he continued, in the same strain, as he turned towards the Governor of Smolensk, "that our worthy friend here deals in dead serfs! By Heavens, listen to me, Tchichikoff! I tell you as a friend, and all here present are your friends, and even his Excellency is present, if I could do it, I would hang thee; by Heavens, I could hang thee!"
Tchichikoff seemed really not to know where he was.