The Doll - Bolesaw Prus [108]
When he entered his study, the servant gave him a letter, written on his own paper by Mrs Meliton: ‘The lady was here twice,’ said the faithful servant, ‘once at five, then at eight o’clock…’
XII
Travels on Behalf of Someone Else
WOKULSKI opened Mrs Meliton’s letter slowly, thinking of the recent incidents. It seemed to him that he could still see in the dark part of his study the thick clumps of trees in the Łazienki park, the vague outlines of the shabby men who had accosted him, and the hillock with the well, where Ochocki had confided in him. But the obscure pictures disappeared when he saw the lamp, with its green shade, a pile of papers and the bronze ornaments on his desk, and for a moment he thought that Ochocki with his flying-machine and his own despair were only a dream after all.
‘What sort of genius is he?’ Wokulski asked himself. ‘He’s only a dreamer…And Izabela is a woman like all the others. If she marries me—well and good; if she doesn’t, it won’t kill me.’
He opened the letter and read:
Dear Sir, Important news: in a few days, Łęcki’s house will be put up for sale, and the only purchaser will be Baroness Krzeszowska, their cousin and enemy. I know for certain she is only prepared to pay sixty thousand roubles for the house, in which case what is left of Izabela’s dowry, amounting to thirty thousand roubles, will be lost. The moment is very advantageous since Izabela, caught between poverty and marriage to the marshal, will gladly agree to any other solution. I suppose that you will not treat this coming opportunity as you did Łęcki’s promissory notes, which you tore up in my presence. Remember this: women like being embraced so much that it is sometimes necessary to trample them underfoot in order to intensify the effect. The more ruthless you are in this, the more certainly she will fall in love with you. Remember this!…
In any case, you can do Bela a small favour. Baron Krzeszowski, pressed by need, has sold his wife a favourite race-horse, which is soon to race and which he greatly counted on. As far as I know their feelings about one another, Bela would be sincerely pleased if neither the Baron nor his wife were to own this horse on the day of the races. The Baron would be ashamed of having sold it, and the Baroness in despair if the horse wins and someone else profits by it. This gossip of the fashionable world is very subtle, but try to make use of it. Moreover, the opportunity will present itself, for I hear that a certain Maruszewicz, friend of both Krzeszowskis, is to propose the purchase of this horse to you.
Remember that women are only the slaves of those who can hold them fast—and indulge their caprices.
I am really beginning to think that you must have been born under a lucky star. Sincerely, A.M.
Wokulski drew a deep breath: both pieces of information were important. He read the letter again, considering Mrs Meliton’s harsh style and smiling at the comments she made on her own sex. It was in Wokulski’s nature to grasp people or opportunities fast: he would grasp everyone and everything by the scruff of the neck—except Izabela. She alone was a being whom he wanted to have absolute freedom, if not domination.
He glanced up: the servant was at the door. ‘Go to bed,’ he told him.
‘I’m just going, sir, only there was a gentleman here,’ the servant replied.
‘Who was it?’
‘He left his card, it’s on your desk…’
On the desk lay Maruszewicz’s visiting-card. ‘Aha…and what did he say?’
‘Nothing—that’s to say, he asked when you would be home. So I says about ten in the morning, then he says he’ll come tomorrow at ten, for a minute or two.’
‘Very well—goodnight