Left to himself, Sarudine stood erect and shook his shapely limbs. His
eyes were half closed, and, as he smiled, his teeth shone beneath his
fair moustache. He was accustomed to have luck, and on this occasion he
foresaw even greater enjoyment in the near future. He imagined Lida in
all her voluptuous beauty at the very moment of surrender. The passion
of such a picture caused him physical pain.
At first, when he paid court to her, and after that, when she had
allowed him to embrace her and kiss her, Lida had always made him feel
somewhat afraid. While he caressed her, there was something strange,
unintelligible in her dark eyes, as though she secretly despised him
She seemed to him so clever, so absolutely unlike other women to whom
he had always felt himself obviously superior, and so proud, that for a
kiss he looked to receive a box on the ear. The thought of possessing
her was almost disquieting. At times he believed that she was just
playing with him and his position appeared simply foolish and absurd.
But to-day, after this promise, uttered hesitatingly, in faltering
tones such as he had heard other women use, he felt suddenly certain of
his power and that victory was near. He knew that things would be just
as he had desired them to be. And to this sense of voluptuous
expectancy was added a touch of spite: this proud, pure, cultured girl
should surrender to him, as all the others had surrendered; he would
use her at his pleasure, as he had used the rest. Scenes libidinous and
debasing rose up before him. Lida nude, with hair dishevelled and
inscrutable eyes, became the central figure in a turbulent orgy of
cruelty and lust. Suddenly he distinctly saw her lying on the ground;
he heard the swish of the whip; he observed a blood-red stripe on the
soft, nude, submissive body. His temples throbbed, he staggered
backwards, sparks danced before his eyes. The thought of it all became
physically intolerable. His hand shook as he lit a cigarette; again his
strong limbs twitched convulsively, and he went indoors. Sanine who had
heard nothing yet who had seen and comprehended all, followed him,
roused almost to a feeling of jealousy.
"Brutes like that are always lucky," he thought to himself, "What the
devil does it all mean? Lida and he?"
At supper, Maria Ivanovna seemed in a bad temper. Tanaroff as usual
said nothing. He thought what a fine thing it would be if he were
Sarudine, and had such a sweetheart as Lida to love him. He would have
loved her in quite a different way, though. Sarudine did not know how
to appreciate his good fortune. Lida was pale and silent, looking at no
one. Sarudine was gay, and on the alert, like a wild beast that scents
its prey. Sanine yawned as usual, ate, drank a good deal of brandy and
apparently seemed longing to go to sleep. But when supper was over, he
declared his intention of walking home with Sarudine. It was near
midnight, and the moon shone high overhead. Almost in silence the two
walked towards the officer's quarters. All the way Sanine kept looking
furtively at Sarudine, wondering if he should, or should not, strike
him in the face.