Sayfa 901 / 2288

"I have asked you no question about that," he said, all at once,

resolutely and with hatred looking her straight in the face;

"that was as I had supposed." Under the influence of anger he

apparently regained complete possession of all his faculties.

"But as I told you then, and have written to you," he said in a

thin, shrill voice, "I repeat now, that I am not bound to know

this. I ignore it. Not all wives are so kind as you, to be in

such a hurry to communicate such agreeable news to their

husbands." He laid special emphasis on the word "agreeable." "I

shall ignore it so long as the world knows nothing of it, so long

as my name is not disgraced. And so I simply inform you that our

relations must be just as they have always been, and that only in

the event of your compromising me I shall be obliged to take

steps to secure my honor."

"But our relations cannot be the same as always," Anna began in a

timid voice, looking at him with dismay.