The Doll - Bolesaw Prus [255]
‘Zasławek!’ Ochocki announced, and raised his whip to execute a tremendous crack which, however, did not come off, because the whip, clumsily thrown back, caught amidst the ladies’ parasols and the gentlemen’s hats.
‘Really, ladies and gentlemen,’ cried the widow, ‘if you want me to come riding with you, you must tie that man up. Quite frankly, he’s dangerous.’
An uproar started in the brake again, because Ochocki was supported by Felicja: she insisted that he drove well for a beginner, and accidents will happen to even the most careful drivers. ‘Fela, my dear,’ replied the widow, ‘you’re at the age when anyone with fine eyes is a good driver.’
‘Today my appetite will be really good,’ said the Baron to his fiancée, but, on realising he had spoken too loudly, he began whispering again.
They had already reached the Duchess’s estate, and Wokulski could see the residence. On a fairly high though gentle hill stood a one-storey palace with two wings. Behind it were the ancient and green trees of a park; in front stretched what looked like a broad meadow, cut by paths, adorned here and there with a clump of trees, a statue or a summer-house. At the foot of the hill a wide expanse of water gleamed, evidently a pond, on which boats and swans were rocking. Against its green background, the palace — bright yellow in colour, with white pillars — looked both imposing and inviting. Brick outbuildings were to be seen among the trees to right and left.
To the whip-cracking which Ochocki succeeded in producing this time, the brake drove across a marble bridge in front of the palace — with only one wheel going over the lawn. The travellers descended, though Ochocki did not hand over the reins and drove the carriage around to the stable. ‘Remember, lunch is at one o’clock,’ Felicja called.
An old servant in a black frock-coat approached the Baron: ‘Her ladyship,’ he said, ‘is in the pantry. Perhaps the gentlemen will go to their rooms?’ After ushering them into the left wing, he showed Wokulski into a large room, its open windows overlooking the park. A moment later, a lad in livery hurried in, bringing water, and set about unpacking the valise.
Wokulski looked out of the window. In front stretched a lawn adorned with clumps of old spruce, birch and linden trees, beyond which wooded hills were visible. Immediately by the windows was a clump of lilacs, with a nest in it, to which sparrows were flying. The warm September breeze entered the room from time to time, bringing indefinable scents.
The guest gazed at the clouds, which seemed to touch the tree-tops, at the shafts of light which fell between the dark branches of the spruces, and was content. He did not think of Izabela. Her image, burning within his soul, had dissolved in the face of the simple pleasures of nature: his sick heart fell silent, and for the first time in a long while, tranquillity and calm enveloped him.
But, recollecting he was here on a visit, he hastily began dressing. Hardly had he finished, than there came a light tap and the old servant entered: ‘Her ladyship invites you to table.’
Wokulski followed him. They entered a corridor and soon were in a large dining-room, its walls panelled half-way up with dark wood. Felicja was talking to Ochocki in a window, while the Duchess was seated in a chair with high arms, between Mrs Wąsowska and the Baron. Seeing her guest, she rose and took a few steps forward: ‘Welcome, Stanisław,’ she said, ‘thank you for taking my advice.’ But when Wokulski bowed over her hand, she kissed him on the brow, which made a certain impression on those present.
‘Sit here, by Kazia. And do you, pray, take care of him,’ she said.
‘Mr Wokulski deserves it,’ the widow replied, ‘had it not been for his presence of mind, Mr Ochocki would have broken our bones for us.’
‘Whatever next!’
‘He can’t even drive a pair of horses, yet he tried his hand on a foursome. I preferred him when he spent his time fishing.’
‘Good God!’ Ochocki groaned, greeting Wokulski cordially, ‘thank goodness I’m not going to marry that woman!’
‘My good man