Crime and Punishment (70 page)

‘Pyotr Petrovich!’ she shouted. ‘At least you will protect us! Please get it into the head of this stupid creature that she has no right to talk like this to a well-born lady in distress, that there are laws about such things. I'll go to the governor-general himself… She must be made to answer… In memory of my father's hospitality, protect his orphans.’

‘Now then, madam, now then… Now then, if you please,’ Pyotr Petrovich said, fending her off. ‘As you very well know, I never had the honour of making your father's acquaintance… now then, madam, if you
please
!’ (Someone went off into loud laughter.) ‘I am afraid I do not intend to become embroiled in your constant bickering with Amalia Ivanovna, madam… I am here on a pressing matter of my own… and wish to speak at once with your stepdaughter, Sofya… er… Ivanovna… That is correct, is it not? Now then, please will you let me through, madam…’

Katerina Ivanovna stayed transfixed to the spot, as though she had been struck by a thunderbolt. She was unable to comprehend how Pyotr Petrovich could thus repudiate her dear papa's hospitality. Having dreamed it up, she now believed in it devoutly. She was also shocked by Pyotr Petrovich's tone of voice, which was dry, businesslike and full of a kind of contemptuous menace. All the others also gradually fell silent upon his entrance. For in addition to the fact that this ‘serious and businesslike’ man all too plainly failed to harmonize with the
rest of the company, it was evident that he had arrived for some important reason, that only some extraordinarily pressing motive could have induced him to join such company, and that consequently in a moment something was going to happen, some event was going to take place. Raskolnikov, who was standing beside Sonya, moved aside to make way for him; Pyotr Petrovich seemed not to take the slightest notice of him. After a moment or two Lebezyatnikov also appeared on the threshold; he did not come into the room, but remained where he was, with a peculiar look of curiosity that was almost one of astonishment; he lent an ear to what was being said but for a long time seemed unable to comprehend any of it.

‘Forgive me for possibly interrupting you, but this is a rather serious matter,’ Pyotr Petrovich observed, somewhat generally and without turning to anyone in particular. ‘I must say I am quite relieved that we have an audience. Amalia Ivanovna, I must ask you, as landlady of these apartments, to address particular attention to what I am now about to say to Sofya Ivanovna. Sofya Ivanovna,’ he went on, turning directly to the thoroughly astonished and already frightened Sonya, ‘immediately after your visit to me in the room of my friend, Andrei Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov, I discovered that a state credit bill, belonging to me and possessing a value of one hundred roubles, was missing from my table. If by any manner of means you know and are able to tell us where it now is, then I give you my word of honour, and summon those present as witnesses, that I shall let the matter end there. If such is not the case, then I shall have no option but to resort to measures of a thoroughly serious nature, and then… you will have only yourself to blame!’

Total silence reigned in the room. Even the crying children quietened down. Sonya stood in deathly pallor, staring at Luzhin and unable to find a reply. It was as if she had not yet taken in what he had said. Several seconds went by.

‘Well, mademoiselle, what have you to say for yourself?’ Luzhin asked, looking fixedly at her.

‘I don't know… I know nothing…’ Sonya said, at last, in a feeble voice.

‘You don't? You know nothing about it?’ Luzhin asked,
keeping up the pressure, and again said nothing for a few seconds. ‘Think, mademoiselle,’ he began sternly, but still as though he were trying to persuade her. ‘Consider the matter. I am prepared to give you some more time for reflection. Let me put it to you like this: if I were not so firmly convinced I am right, I should never, in the light of the experience I possess, have risked accusing you so directly; for I should myself, in a certain manner of speaking, be held answerable for making a direct, vocal but false, or let us simply say mistaken, accusation of that kind. Of that I am aware. This morning I cashed, in order to meet certain personal expenses, a few five per cent bonds in the nominal sum of three thousand roubles. I have the receipt in my wallet. On arriving home – Andrei Semyonovich will testify to this – I began to count the money and, having counted 2,300 roubles of it, put it away in my wallet, which I keep in the inside pocket of my frock-coat. On the table there remained some five hundred roubles in credit bills, among them three banknotes with the value of a hundred roubles each. Just then you arrived (at my summons) – and during all the time you were in my quarters you were in a state of extreme embarrassment, so much so that three times in the course of our conversation you got up in a hurry to be off somewhere, even though we had not finished talking. Andrei Semyonovich is able to testify to all of this. I think, mademoiselle, you will probably not deny that I summoned you through the intermediacy of Andrei Semyonovich for the sole and exclusive purpose of discussing with you the orphaned and helpless condition of your relative, Katerina Ivanovna (whose funeral banquet I was unable to attend), and the advantage there would be in organizing for her benefit something in the nature of a subscription, lottery or similar means of raising money. You thanked me and even shed a few tears (I relate it all as it happened, in the first place in order to refresh your memory and in the second place in order to demonstrate to you that not the slightest detail has been effaced from my own memory). Thereupon I took from the table a ten-rouble banknote and gave it to you on my own behalf for the protection of the interests of your relative, under the guise of first-aid. All of this was observed by Andrei Semyonovich. Then
I accompanied you to the door – still in the same state of embarrassment – after which, having myself remained alone with Andrei Semyonovich and talked with him for some ten minutes or so, Andrei Semyonovich departed, I returned to the table where the money was still lying with the object of counting it and putting it aside for a special purpose, as I had originally planned. To my surprise one of the hundred-rouble notes was not there. Consider, if you will, my position: I could not possibly suspect Andrei Semyonovich; the very idea still makes me ashamed. Neither could I have been in error regarding the total, as a moment before you arrived, having finished the counting, I had found it to be correct. I think you will agree that, in view of your embarrassment, your hurry to be gone and the fact that you placed your hands on the table for a time; and, finally, taking into account your social position and the habits that are associated with it, I was, as it were,
compelled
with horror and against my will to form a suspicion – a cruel one, it is true, but one that is – just! I wish to add and to state again that, in spite of all my
self-evident
conviction that I am right, I realize that there is none the less present in the accusation I now make a certain risk for myself. But, as you see, I have not let the matter lie; I have risen in protest and will tell you the reason why: solely, solely because of your most flagrant ingratitude, madam! What? I invite you to visit me in the interests of your utterly impoverished relative, I give you ten roubles out of charity, the most that I can afford, and this is how you repay me for it! No, madam, that is wrong! You must be taught a lesson. Consider! Indeed, as your true friend I beg of you (for I am the best friend you can hope for at this moment) – come to your senses! Otherwise there will be no pleading with me. Well, then?’

‘I stole nothing from you,’ Sonya whispered in horror. ‘You gave me ten roubles; here, have them back.’ From her pocket Sonya produced a handkerchief, searched for the knot in it, untied it, took forth the ten-rouble bill and stretched out her hand towards Luzhin.

‘And you won't own up to the remaining hundred roubles?’ he said, insistently and reproachfully, refusing to accept the banknote.

Sonya gazed around her. Everyone was looking at her with such horrible, stern, mocking, hateful faces. She glanced at Raskolnikov… he was standing over by the wall, with his arms folded, and was watching her with a burning stare.

‘O merciful Lord!’ broke from Sonya.

‘Amalia Ivanovna, we shall have to let the police know about this, and so I must kindly ask you to send for the yardkeeper now,’ Luzhin said softly and even tenderly.

‘
Gott der Barmherzige!
¹
I always knew she was stealing!’ Amalia Ivanovna exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

‘Did you, indeed?’ Luzhin said, following this up. ‘So you must have had at least some sort of grounds for drawing such a conclusion. I beg you, my dearest Amalia Ivanovna, to remember those words of yours, which were uttered, I should add, in the presence of witnesses.’

A loud murmur of voices suddenly arose on all sides. Everyone stirred into action.

‘Wha-a-t?’ Katerina Ivanovna suddenly shouted, coming to her senses. As though she had broken loose from some impediment, she flew at Luzhin. ‘What! Are you accusing her of theft? My Sonya? Oh, you villains, villains!’ And rushing over to Sonya, she embraced her in her withered arms as in a vice.

‘Sonya! How could you dare to accept ten roubles from him? Oh you silly idiot! Give it here! Give me those ten roubles this instant – there!’

And snatching the banknote out of Sonya's hands, Katerina Ivanovna crushed it into a ball and hurled it violently right in Luzhin's face. The paper pellet struck Luzhin on one eye and bounced back on to the floor. Amalia Ivanovna rushed to pick up the money. Pyotr Petrovich lost his temper.

‘Restrain this madwoman!’ he shouted.

Just then a few more people appeared in the doorway, at Lebezyatnikov's side, and peeping through among them were the two ladies from out of town.

‘What? Madwoman? Are you calling me a madwoman? You fool!’ Katerina Ivanovna shrieked. ‘You're a fool, a canting, quibbling stuff-gown, a despicable man! Sonya, Sonya take money from you? Sonya a thief? Why, she's the one who'd give
it to
you
, you fool!’ And Katerina Ivanovna burst into hysterical laughter. ‘Look at the fool!’ she cried, rushing hither and thither, pointing everyone's attention towards Luzhin. ‘What? You too?’ she said, catching sight of the landlady. ‘Have you come here, too, you sausage-maker's wife, to tell me that she “was stealing”, you miserable Prussian chicken-leg in a crinoline? Oh you monsters, you monsters! Why, she's been in this room all the time; as soon as she came back from seeing you, you despicable villain, she came in here and sat down beside me – everyone saw her. Right here, next to Rodion Romanovich!… Why don't you search her? If she hasn't been anywhere else the money ought still to be on her! Go on, search her, search her! Only if you don't find anything, my dear, then I'm sorry, but you'll answer for it! I'll go to His Majesty, His Majesty, to the Tsar himself, I'll throw myself at his merciful feet, right now, today! I – an orphan! I'll be let in. You think I won't? You're wrong, I will, I wi-i-ll! Is it because she's so meek and mild, is that what you're counting on? Is that it? Well, I have a fiery temper! You'll come to grief! Go on, search her! Go on, search her, search her, why don't you – search her!!’

And in a frenzy Katerina Ivanovna tugged at Pyotr Petrovich, dragging him over to Sonya.

‘I am prepared to assume complete responsibility… but you must calm yourself, calm yourself, madam! I can see only too well that you have a fiery temper!… This is… this is… what are you doing, madam?’ Luzhin muttered. ‘This ought to be done in the presence of the police… though actually there are now more than enough witnesses… I am prepared, madam… But in any case it is difficult for a man… on account of his sex… If perhaps Amalia Ivanovna were to lend her assistance… though, in fact, this is not the way to go about such matters… What are you doing, madam?’

‘Let anyone you like do it! Let anyone who wants to search her!’ Katerina Ivanovna shouted. ‘Sonya, turn out your pockets and let them see! There! There! Look, you monster, it's empty, that's the pocket her handkerchief was in, and it's empty, see? There's the other pocket! There! There! You see? You see?’

And Katerina Ivanovna, attacking both pockets, tore rather
than turned them inside out, first one and then the other, exposing their linings. From the second pocket, however, a piece of paper suddenly leapt out and, describing a parabola in the air, fell at Luzhin's feet. Everyone saw it; many exclaimed out loud. Pyotr Petrovich stooped down, retrieved it with two fingers from the floor, raised it for all to see and unfolded it. It was a hundred-rouble banknote, folded in eight. Pyotr Petrovich moved his arm round, showing the note to everyone.

‘Thief! Out of my apartments! Police, police!’ Amalia Ivanovna began to howl. ‘
Nach Sibirien
with them!’

Exclamations flew on every side. Raskolnikov said nothing, still keeping his gaze on Sonya and occasionally, but quickly, transferring it to Luzhin. Sonya was still standing on the same spot, as though in a trance. She did not even seem to be particularly surprised. Suddenly the colour flooded the whole of her face; she uttered a shriek and covered her face with her hands.

‘No, I didn't do it! I didn't take it! I don't know anything about it!’ she exclaimed in a heart-rending wail and rushed over to Katerina Ivanovna. Katerina Ivanovna caught her to her bosom and pressed her tightly against it, as though with her chest she were trying to protect her from them all.

‘Sonya! Sonya! I don't believe it! Look, you see – I don't believe it!’ Katerina Ivanovna cried (in spite of all the manifest visibility with which she was confronted), shaking her in her arms like an infant, kissing her innumerable times, catching her hands and kissing them, too, almost sinking her teeth into them. ‘As if you would have taken it! Why, how stupid can these people be? O merciful Lord! You're stupid, stupid!’ she shouted, addressing them all. ‘Why, you don't know, you don't know what a heart this girl has, what sort of a girl this is! She take the money, she? Why, she'd take off her last dress and sell it, go barefoot and give you the money if you needed it, that's the sort of girl she is! She took the yellow card because my children were dying of hunger, she sold herself for our sake!… Oh, departed, departed! Oh, departed, departed! Do you see? Do you see? A fine funeral banquet we're holding for you! O merciful Lord! But why are you all just standing there? Why don't you defend her? Rodion Romanovich! Why are you not interceding for her?
Do you believe it, too? You're not one of you worth her little finger, not one, not one, not one of you! O good God! Defend her now, at last!’