thousand roubles, with which we could buy a summer cottage in Finland———
Voitski. Hold on! Repeat what you just said; I don’t think I heard you quite right.
Serebrakoff. I said we would invest the money in bonds and buy a cottage in Finland with the surplus.
Voitski. No, not Finland—you said something else.
Serebrakoff. I propose to sell this place.
Voitski. Aha! That was it! So you are going to sell the place? Splendid. The idea is a rich one. And what do you propose to do with my old mother and me and with Sonia here?
Serebrakoff. That will be decided in due time. We can’t do everything at once.
Voitski. Wait! It is clear that until this moment I have never had a grain of sense in my head. I have always been stupid enough to think that the estate belonged to Sonia. My father bought it as a wedding present for my sister, and I foolishly imagined that as our laws were made for Russians and not Turks, my sister’s estate would come down to her child.
Serebrakoff. Of course it is Sonia’s. Has any one denied it? I don’t want to sell it without Sonia’s consent; on the contrary, what I am doing is for Sonia’s good.
Voitski. This is absolutely incomprehensible. Either I have gone mad or—or———
Mme. Voitskaya. Jean, don’t contradict Alexander. Trust to him; he knows better than we do what is right and what is wrong.
Voitski. I shan’t. Give me some water. [He drinks] Go ahead! Say anything you please—anything!
Serebrakoff. I can’t imagine why you are so upset. I don’t pretend that my scheme is an ideal one, and if you all object to it I shall not insist.
