The Doll - Bolesaw Prus [187]
‘I had a letter from Krzeszowska,’ Izabela interrupted.
‘Ah? And what does the silly woman say?’
‘She says our house was not bought by Szlangbaum, but by Wokulski, and that with the help of false bidders he gave twenty thousand more than it was worth.’
Speaking in a stifled voice, she looked in alarm at her father, fearing an outburst. But Tomasz merely sat up on the sofa, cracked his fingers and exclaimed: ‘One moment! One moment! You know, it may be true.’
‘How can it be?’ Izabela rose hastily, ‘he dares present us with twenty thousand roubles — and you can speak of it calmly?’
‘I speak calmly because, had I delayed the sale, I should not have got ninety but a hundred and twenty thousand …’
‘But we could not wait, as the house was up for auction.’
‘And because we could not, we have lost and Wokulski will gain, because he can.’
After this remark, Izabela became somewhat calmer: ‘So you do not consider it charity on his part? For yesterday you spoke of Wokulski as if you felt you had been trapped by him …’
‘Ha ha ha!’ Tomasz laughed, ‘that’s capital — simply capital! Yesterday I was somewhat agitated, even very much so, and something … something began to dawn upon me … But today! Ha ha ha! Let Wokulski overpay for the house. He’s a tradesman and ought to know how much and what he is paying for. He loses on one and gains on another. I for one can’t resent the fact that he took part in the auction of my house. Although I’d have the right to suspect some shady business in his putting up Szlangbaum, for instance.’
Izabela embraced her father cordially: ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘you are right, papa. I didn’t realise to the full what it all meant. This putting up of Jews at the sale clearly proves that this man, while playing at friendship, is doing business.’
‘Of course!’ Tomasz agreed, ‘surely you have the sense to understand such a simple thing? Perhaps he isn’t a bad man, but he’s a tradesman always, a tradesman …’
A loud ringing came from the vestibule: ‘That must be he. I’ll go, papa, and leave the two of you together.’
She left her father’s bedroom, but instead of Wokulski in the vestibule she saw a total of three Jews, loudly arguing with Mikołaj and Flora. She rushed from the vestibule and the phrase: ‘My God! Why doesn’t he come?’ passed through her mind.
A storm of emotion was boiling in her heart. While agreeing with her father’s views, Izabela had nevertheless guessed it was not true what he said. Wokulski had made no profit from the house, but had lost, merely in order to extricate them from a most fatal situation.
But while admitting this, she hated him: ‘Scoundrel! Scoundrel!’ she whispered, ‘how dare he?’
Meanwhile, the Jews in the vestibule had started an angry scene with Flora. They declared they would not go until they got their money, that the young lady had given her word the previous day … And when Mikołaj opened the front door, they began abusing him: ‘This is robbery! This is cheating! You know how to get money and then you say “My dear David …” but when the time comes …’
‘What is the meaning of this?’ said a new voice at that moment.
The Jews fell silent: ‘What is the meaning of this? What are you doing here, Mr Spigelman?’
Izabela recognized Wokulski’s voice.
‘Me? Nothing … My respects, honoured sir … We are here on business, to see His Excellency …’ Spigelman explained in a tone completely different from his previous noisy one.
‘The gentleman told us to come for our money today …’ put in another Jew, ‘the young lady gave her word yesterday that we should all be paid off today, to the last penny …’
‘And so you shall,’ Wokulski interrupted, ‘I am Mr Łęcki’s plenipotentiary and will deal with your accounts in my office at six today.’
‘No hurry … Why in such a hurry, honoured sir?’ Spigelman replied.
‘Pray come to my office at six, and you, Mikołaj, do not admit anyone on business while your master is ill.’
‘Very good, sir! My master is waiting in his bedroom,’ Mikołaj