XIII.
Lopukhóf during these last weeks has had no time to spend with his acquaintances of the medical school. Kirsánof, who has kept up his intercourse with them, has replied, when asked about Lopukhóf, that he has had among other things, some business to attend to; and one of their common friends, as we know, gave him the address of a lady, the lady to whose house Lopukhóf is now going.
"How excellently the matter will be arranged, if all turns out satisfactorily," thought Lopukhóf on his way to the lady's house. "In two years, or certainly in two years and a half, I shall get a professorship. Then we shall have something to live on. And meantime, she will be staying quietly at the B.s', provided only Mrs. B. prove to be the right sort of woman, and there can hardly be a doubt of that."
In fact, Lopukhóf found in Mrs. B. a clever, kind-hearted woman, without pretence, though from her husband's position, and from their wealth and connections, she had a right to put on great style. The conditions were favorable, the family circumstances very propitious for Viérotchka. Everything proved to be entirely satisfactory, just as Lopukhóf expected. Mrs. B. also found Lopukhóf's replies in regard to Viérotchka's character perfectly satisfactory. The affair was rapidly drawing near a settlement, and after they had talked half an hour, Mrs. B. said, "If your young aunt should consent to my terms, I will ask her to remove to my house, and the sooner, the better for me."
"She consents; she has authorized me to consent for her. But now that we have settled the matter, I must tell you what would have been wrong for me to tell you before: the young girl is no relation of mine. She is the daughter of a tchinovnik at whose house I give lessons. There is no one besides me to whom she can confide her troubles. But I am an absolute stranger to her."
"I knew it, Monsieur Lopukhóf. You yourself, Professor N." (naming the acquaintance through whom her address had been obtained), "and your chum, who spoke to him about this matter of yours, know each other to be so honorable that you can speak among yourselves about the friendship one of you has for a young girl, and not compromise the young girl in the eyes of the others. And Professor N.,
