White nights / Белые ночи

Perhaps I will tell you to-morrow, and perhaps not … I will talk to you a little more beforehand; we will get to know each other better …”

“Oh yes, I will tell you all about myself tomorrow! But what has happened? It is as though a miracle had befallen me … My God, where am I? Come, tell me aren’t you glad that you were not angry and did not drive me away at the first moment, as any other woman would have done? In two minutes you have made me happy for ever. Yes, happy; who knows, perhaps, you have reconciled me with myself, solved my doubts! … Perhaps such moments come upon me … But there I will tell you all about it to-morrow, you shall know everything, everything …”

“Very well, I consent; you shall begin …”

“Agreed.

”

“Good-bye till to-morrow!”

“Till to-morrow!”

And we parted. I walked about all night; I could not make up my mind to go home. I was so happy …To-morrow!

SECOND NIGHT

“Well, so you have survived!” she said, pressing both my hands.

“I’ve been here for the last two hours; you don’t know what a state I have been in all day.”

“I know, I know. But to business. Do you know why I have come? Not to talk nonsense, as I did yesterday. I tell you what, we must behave more sensibly in future. I thought a great deal about it last night.”

“In what way – in what must we be more sensible? I am ready for my part; but, really, nothing more sensible has happened to me in my life than this, now.

”

“Really? In the first place, I beg you not to squeeze my hands so; secondly, I must tell you that I spent a long time thinking about you and feeling doubtful today.”

“And how did it end?”

“How did it end? The upshot of it is that we must begin all over again, because the conclusion I reached today was that I don’t know you at all;

that I behaved like a baby last night, like a little girl; and, of course, the fact of it is, that it’s my soft heart that is to blame – that is, I sang my own praises, as one always does in the end when one analyses one’s conduct.

And therefore to correct my mistake, I’ve made up my mind to find out all about you minutely. But as I have no one from whom I can find out anything, you must tell me everything fully yourself. Well, what sort of man are you? Come, make haste – begin – tell me your whole history.”

“My history!” I cried in alarm.