"It is not my intrigue!" cried Lebedeff, waving his hand.
"It was engineered by other people, and is, properly speaking, rather a fantasy than an intrigue!"
"But what is it all about? Tell me, for Heaven's sake! Cannot you understand how nearly it touches me? Why are they blackening Evgenie Pavlovitch's reputation?"
Lebedeff grimaced and wriggled again.
"Prince!" said he. "Excellency! You won't let me tell you the whole truth; I have tried to explain; more than once I have begun, but you have not allowed me to go on… "
The prince gave no answer, and sat deep in thought. Evidently he was struggling to decide.
"Very well! Tell me the truth," he said, dejectedly.
"Aglaya Ivanovna… " began Lebedeff, promptly.
"Be silent! At once!" interrupted the prince, red with indignation, and perha
