Koch. Look here! it’s I that ought to be angry with you, not you with me. You hide everything from me, your friend. You think of marrying?
Pod. What nonsense! I never thought of such a thing.
Koch. My friend, you’re caught in the act! (Points to Fèkla.) There she stands; everybody knows what sort of bird she is. Ah, well! never mind; there’s nothing to be ashamed of; it’s a good Christian action—indeed, it’s necessary for the good of the State. I don’t mind; I’ll take the whole responsibility of it. (To Fèkla.) Well, tell me who she is, and all about her. What class does she belong to?—noble, official, merchant? And what’s her name?
Fèkla. Agàfia Tikhònovna.
Koch. Agàfia Tikhònovna Brandakhlỳstova?
Fèkla. No, no! Kouperdyàgina.
Koch. Ah! she lives in the Shestilàvochna, doesn’t she?
Fèkla. No, she doesn’t, then! She lives near Peskì, in the Mỳlny Row.
Koch. Oh, yes; in the Mỳlny Row; a wooden house, next door to a shop, isn’t it?
Fèkla. No, it isn’t. It’s beyond the wine-vaults.