XIII
She went up to him first.
'Mr. Nezhdanov,' she began in a hurried voice, 'you are, I fancy, completely fascinated by Valentina Mihalovna?'
She turned without waiting for an answer, and walked along the avenue; and he walked beside her.
'What makes you think that?' he asked after a brief pause.
`Isn't it so? If not, she has played her cards badly to-day. I can fancy how carefully she has been at work, how she has laid her little nets.'
Nezhdanov uttered not a word; he only stared from one side at his strange companion.
'Listen,' she continued; 'I'm not going to pretend; I don't like Valentina Mihalovna─and you know that well enough. I may strike you as unjust . . . but you should first consider . . .'
Marianna's voice broke. She was flushed
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