War and Peace

Chapter 13

[Four]

When Princess Molier came in, the Duke of Vauchille and his son were already sitting in the living room, talking with the petite Duchess and Miss Pollyeye.When she saw Unladhuli, she was amazed by his good looks.She felt that a powerful big hand held her hand tightly, and she slightly touched his fair forehead under his perfumed blond hair with her lips.He hooked the buttons of his uniform with his thumbs, his chest was straight, his body was leaning back slightly, his outstretched foot was shaking from side to side, he tilted his head slightly, and without saying a word, he looked at the princess happily, which could be seen , he was not thinking about her at all.Angladuuri was not sensitive in conversation, but he had the poise and undisturbed self-confidence that prevailed in the upper class.Unladuli has not spoken, silently and happily watching the princess's hairstyle, it seems that he can keep silent like this forever.In addition, Angladuli has a sense of contempt for everything when he is in contact with women. His demeanor most arouses women's curiosity, fear, and even admiration.

The arrival of the two guests displeased the old prince very much.The presence of the guest brought up in his mind the unresolved and oft-repressed question whether he had made up his mind to marry the young lady off and give her to her husband.Although he doesn't like his daughter, his life cannot go on without her. "Why does she have to get married?" he thought, "maybe it's for happiness, but who can marriage give happiness?" The Duke of Vauxille brought his son, obviously to talk about marriage, maybe today or maybe tomorrow.The families and social status of the two of them are comparable. "Well, I have no objection," the old prince thought, "but he is indeed worthy of her." The old prince came to the living room while thinking about his thoughts.

The old prince exchanged a few courteous words with Duke Vauchille, and then greeted Unladury.Suddenly, he saw his daughter's new attire, stood up and walked in front of her.

"You are dressed like this for the guests, aren't you?" he said, "It's pretty, it's very good-looking. You have a new hairstyle for the guests, but I want to tell you in front of the guests that there will be no one from me in the future." With permission, you do not change your attire."

"It's my fault, papa," stammered the little princess, blushing.

"You can do as you please," said the old prince, giving his daughter-in-law a military salute.

The old prince sat back on the sofa, no longer paying attention to his daughter who was so sad that he was about to cry.As is often the case with celibate women who have not seen men for a long time, Unladury's presence surprised all three women of the old prince's house, whose life before that was not life at all.It can only be said to be alive, and now their ability to think, observe and feel has been improved many times at once. It seems that they have been living in the dark, and now they are suddenly illuminated by a new light with rich meaning.

Princess Molier didn't think at all, and she couldn't remember her face and hairstyle before. The handsome and beautiful face of the man who was likely to be her husband completely attracted her.She found him kind and brave, quick-witted, and generous, and she was sure of that.Her images of domestic life flooded her, and she was trying to keep them under cover, trying to hide them.

The arrival of Angladuli also aroused Miss Pollyey's great interest. This young and beautiful girl has no definite social background, no relatives and friends, and even no motherland. Miss Lie.Miss Pollylove had long fantasized about the arrival of a Russian duke, who could see at once that she was superior to the ugly, unattractive, and indecent Russian princesses, and so would Fall in love with her and take her away.Now, the Russian duke has finally appeared.

Like an old war horse ready to gallop at the sound of a horn, the petite princess unconsciously flirted with coquettishness, forgetting even about her pregnancy.She had no illusions, no sense of inappropriateness in doing so, it was simply the expression of her innocent, frivolous nature.

Although Angladuuri usually pretended to be dismissive of women in general, seeing his influence on these three women truly satisfied his vanity.In addition, he developed a primal lust for the beautiful, sultry Miss Pollyeyre, which outbursts could overwhelm him and eventually lead him to rough things.

[five]

No one fell asleep quickly that night except Unladuuri, who fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

"Is this handsome, handsome, and proud man really going to be my husband?" thought the Princess Molière, a feeling of fear that she had never felt before came over her.She rang the bell to call the servant, and told the maid to sleep in her room.

Miss Polly love walked back and forth in the conservatory for a long time that night, waiting for someone aimlessly. She sometimes laughed to herself, sometimes smiled, and sometimes shed tears because she imagined her dead mother complaining about herself of the fall.

The petite princess was muttering that the mattress hadn't been dried today, which made her restless and uncomfortable.Her belly had been getting in her way, and today it was getting in the way more than ever.The arrival of Angladuli made her recall the good and happy time with her husband in the past.

The old prince could not sleep either.He walked sullenly up and down the room, snorting.He felt insulted because of his daughter, and what made him most angry was that not only himself, but also his precious daughter was insulted. "Anyone came, and even Father forgot. Hmm... that fool was eyeing the little slut (must get rid of her!), but why is Moliere so self-respecting. Yes The devil brought them here. Let them go away!" he said to himself, covering his head.

Waking up early the next day, Princess Molière came to her father's study in fear.It seemed to her that everyone not only knew that her fate was to be decided that day, but that they had seen her own opinion.

The old prince's manner towards his daughter that morning was very gentle and cautious, but he called her "you" in conversation.

"They mentioned your marriage to me." "I don't know what you think, papa," said the princess in a low voice.

"Me? What does it matter to me? It's not that I'm getting married. I want to know what you think."

The princess saw that her father disapproved of the matter, but at the same time, thinking that the fate of her life would either be decided now or never, she said:
"I will only do what you want, but if I have to say my wish..."

The old duke interrupted her: "My daughter, please remember, I stick to my principles, my daughter has her own right to choose, and I will give you freedom. Go back to your room and think about it carefully, and then wait an hour Come here and tell him in front of him, whether you agree or not."

The princess came out of the study in a daze.Her fate was decided, and she decided it herself.But when she passed through the conservatory, she suddenly heard Miss Pollyey's familiar voice.She raised her eyes, and a few steps away from her, she saw Unladuuri, who was speaking to her in a low voice, with Miss Pollyeye in his arms.Seeing Princess Molière, Unla Duli's beautiful face showed a look of surprise, but he did not let go of Miss Pollyère immediately, and Miss Pollyère did not see Princess Molière.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Angladuli seemed to be saying this.Princess Molière looked at them silently, she could not understand what was going on.Miss Pollylove, who found Mollyer, let out a cry of surprise and ran away.Angladuuri seemed to be laughing at this adventure, he bowed to Princess Molière with a smile on his face, shrugged his shoulders, and walked to his room.

An hour later, Jeho came and asked Princess Molière to see the old prince, and told him that Prince Vauxille was also in the study.When Jeho came in, Princess Molière was sitting on the sofa with Miss Pollylove, who was crying loudly.Princess Molière stroked Miss Pollyey's head, and looked at Miss Pollyyre's pretty face tenderly and pitifully. The princess's eyes were still so bright and shining.

"Oh, princess, I am sorry for you," said Miss Pollyeyre. "Don't say that. I love you more than ever," said the princess, "and I will do all I can for your happiness."

When Molier came to the study, she saw the Duke of Vauchile with crossed legs and a snuff bottle in his hand, and saw his father with tears in his eyes.

"The Duke proposes to you on behalf of his son. Do you agree to be the wife of Duke Angladuri Kuragin? Do you say yes or no?" cried the old prince.

"My wish, Papa, is never to be separated from you, never to let my life be separated from yours." She looked at the Duke of Vauchille and his father with her beautiful eyes, and said firmly.

Molière said to Duke Vauchile, who was trying to persuade him, "Duke, I am telling the truth. I thank you for giving me this honor, but I will never be your daughter-in-law."

[six]

The Rostaff family did not receive a letter from Malal for a long time. It was not until winter that the count received a letter. He could tell from the handwriting that it was a letter from his son, and hurriedly hid in the house to read the letter.There was good news and bad news in the letter. It said that Maral was wounded and became an officer. The count held the letter in his hand, crying and laughing for a while.

In order for the countess and the whole family to bear the shock of the letter, Princess Talubinskaya made careful arrangements for half a day, and finally she led the countess into the room.

"It's done!" she said to the count, pointing at the countess with pride, with that look of contentment on her face, like a surgeon who has just performed a major operation and is now admiring his masterpiece. .

Willie, Natess, Martha, and Biga all went into the living room to read the letter together.The letter briefly recounted the route of the march, the two battles Maral took part in, his promotion, and then wrote that he kissed the hands of his parents and asked them to bless him, that he kissed Willie, Natess and Biga , besides, he greeted the nurse and begged to kiss dear Martha for him, saying he still loved and missed her just as much.Hearing this, Martha shed hot tears in embarrassment. She couldn't bear everyone's stares and rushed to the hall.After reading the letter, the countess also wiped her tears.

Malar's letter had been read hundreds of times, and those who thought they were entitled to read it had to go to the countess because she held it tightly in her hand.

After a week of pondering, I wrote a reply letter.Under the personal supervision of the old earl and his wife, they bought a lot of daily necessities and raised a sum of money to buy new military uniforms and equipment.It was decided that both the letter and the money should be sent first to Blitz by the Grand Duke's courier, and Blitz would pass it on to Maral.There are only a large stack of letters, from the old prince, the duchess, Biga, Willy, Natssy, Martha, and finally, the earl’s clothing fee for his son and six dollars for buying various things. thousand rubles.

[seven]

On November [-], Kotusov's troops camped near Olmitz, and were ready to be inspected by the Russian and Austrian emperors the next day.

On this day, Malal received a letter from Blitz asking him to go to Blitz, saying that he had a family letter and money to hand over to him.Burlitz was playing chess with Berg when Maral Lowstaff entered his room. "My God! You have become so powerful!" Blitz stood up and faced Malar. Although he stood up, he hurriedly helped up the knocked chess piece. He wanted to hug his friend, but Malar Lal dodged it.Malar had a special feeling when he was a child. He didn't want to have a false meeting ceremony and kiss each other like other people, but wanted to gently poke and pinch Blitz, but Blitz Instead, he hugged Maral gently and generously, and kissed him three times.

It seems like they haven't been together for six months.Both of them are young people who have just stepped into the society, so they both find that the two sides have changed a lot, and what they want to let each other understand is the change in their hearts.

"Hey, you idle swingers, you are dressed up beautifully and handsomely, as if you came back from a banquet, unlike us soldiers who have suffered." Lostav put on a soldier's style, pointing to himself Said the breeches covered with mud spots, his thick voice made Bolits feel very curious.

Among the parents' letters, there is a letter to Duke Bogorageo, which was obtained by the old countess from a friend. The old countess asked her son to deliver the letter to Duke Bogorageo. , We must seize the favorable opportunity.

"It's just plucking! I don't need it," said Rosettavre, putting the letter into a drawer. "Why is that?" asked Blitz. "What letter of recommendation, I don't like this set?"

"Don't talk like that," Blitz picked it up, looked at the addressee, and said, "it might be useful."

"I really don't want to go, I just want to do things down-to-earth and be an honest person."

"Why?" asked Britz. "Serving people's errands!"

"I see, you are really determined." Bolits shook his head and said. "You're still a diplomat. Well, let's change the subject. How are you?" asked Rosetaffer.After chatting for a while, at Malar's request, Britz sent someone to buy some bottles of wine. They called into Berg, and the three officers sat at the table drinking and talking.Rostaff told of the fierce battle in which he had been involved.Rostaff was an upright young man who didn't intend to lie, but as he talked, his story went off course.He told of how he rushed like a storm into the enemy lines, slashed left and right, how his saber tasted meat, how at last he fell from his horse from fatigue, and so on.

"You can't imagine what a strange feeling of madness you can experience when charging into battle." Just as Malar was saying these words, Duke Andrele came into the room.He had been ordered to deliver Kotusov's papers to the Crown Prince, and stopped by to see if he could do anything for Bolitz.

The Duke Andrée liked to put on an air of patronizing the young, and took pride in helping others.Andrée entered the room and saw a hussar showing off his battle deeds (the Duke Andrée was very disgusted with such people), the Duke Andrée stuck out his tongue at Britz, then frowned He glanced at Rose Tafer from the corner of his eyes, bowed slightly, and sat down on the sofa slowly.He felt uncomfortable in the presence of people he did not like.Rosettaver blushed when he saw this.But he didn't care, he didn't know him anyway.But he looked at Blitz, only to find that Blitz seemed ashamed of him as a front-line hussar.The sneering of the Duc d'Andrew was tiresome, and Rostaff, from the standpoint of his fighting troops, did not take the lieutenant seriously at all (this man who has just entered is obviously of this type), In spite of this, Lostaff felt uncomfortable all over, blushed and said nothing.

After talking for a while with Britz and Berg, Duke Undry turned to Rostaff:
"You seem to be talking about the battle at Schöngraben? Where were you?"

"I was there," replied Rosetaffer dryly, "unlike you dudes who get rewarded for not doing something."

"You seem to have misunderstood the man!" said the Prince d'Andrew, smiling calmly and especially kindly.

A feeling of inexplicable anger and admiration for the man's self-possession merged in Rostaff's heart.

(End of this chapter)