The Doll - Bolesaw Prus [303]
I grew hot and cold by turns as I listened to this speech, uttered in a powerful contralto voice in the presence of several customers. I hardly had time to pull the female into my room, and implore her to start proceedings against us for damage and loss.
A few hours after this female — lo and behold, in comes a student, the one with a beard who didn’t pay rent on principle: ‘Ah, how are you?’ says he, ‘is it true that the devilish Krzeszowska has bought the house from you?’
‘It is,’ said I, privately certain he’d start to strike me.
‘Confound it!’ said the bearded student, ‘but that Wokulski was a fine landlord (N.B. Staś hasn’t had a penny piece out of them for their apartment), and now he’s sold the house. So Krzeszowska can turn us out of that hole?’
‘Hm … Hm …’ I replied.
‘And she will, too,’ he added, sighing, ‘we’ve already had some German with the demand that we move out. But I’ll go to the devil before they get rid of us without court proceedings, or if they do … We’ll give the whole house something to talk about! Good-day, sir.’
‘Well,’ thought I, ‘that one at least has no complaints against us. Evidently they’re really prepared to give the Baroness something to think about …’
Finally, next day, Wirski rushes in: ‘You know what, colleague?’ he said, indignantly, ‘the old girl has sacked me, and ordered me to move out by New Year.’
‘Wokulski has already made provision for you,’ I replied, ‘you’ll get a post in the trading company.’
By thus listening to some, calming others and comforting yet others, I survived the main attack, somehow. I also understood that the Baroness was sowing disaster amidst the tenants like Tamerlaine, and I felt an instinctive uneasiness regarding the pretty and virtuous Mrs Stawska.
During the second half of December, I looked up one day — the door opened, and in came Mrs Stawska. As pretty as ever (she is always pretty when unhappy and when she looks worried). She gazed at me out of her charming eyes and said quietly: ‘Would you be kind enough to show me the doll?’
The doll (and three similar ones) had long been ready, but I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t find them for a few minutes. Klein is absurd with those grimaces of his: he’s ready to think I’m in love with Mrs Stawska. Finally I extricated the boxes — there were three large dolls, a brunette, a blonde and one with chestnut hair. Each had real hair, each blinked its eyes when pressed in the tummy, and uttered a sound which Mrs Stawska took to be ‘Mama’, Klein to be ‘Papa’, and I to be ‘Uhu’.
‘Lovely,’ said Mrs Stawska, ‘but they must be very expensive.’
‘Madam,’ said I, ‘these are goods we want to dispose of, so we can let them go very cheaply. I’ll see my boss …’
Staś was working behind the cupboards, but when I told him Mrs Stawska had come and what she wanted, he dropped his accounts and hurried into the store in an affable mood. I even noticed that he gazed at Mrs Stawska as cordially as though she had made a powerful impression on him. Well, finally! Thank goodness!
‘A bargain’s a bargain,’ we told Mrs Stawska, adding that the dolls were damaged goods for which there was no demand, so we could dispose of them for three roubles.
‘I’ll take this one,’ she replied, choosing the chestnut, ‘because it is exactly like the Baroness’s. Helena will be delighted.’
When it came to paying, Mrs Stawska was again seized by scruples: she thought such a doll must be worth at least fifteen roubles, and only the combined efforts of Wokulski, Klein and me succeeded in convincing her that we still had a profit on three roubles.
Wokulski went back to his business, and I asked Mrs Stawska the news from the house, and what her relations with the Baroness were like?