'Ah, she's a wretch, a perfect wretch!' Kapitolina Markovna declared, shaking her head commiseratingly; 'why, with the price of _her_ get-up, you could keep not ten, but a hundred families. Did you see under her hat, on _her_ red hair, there were diamonds? Upon my word, diamonds in the day-time!'
'Her hair's not red,' remarked Litvinov; 'she dyes it red--that's the fashion now.'
Again Kapitolina Markovna could only lift her hands; she was positively dumbfounded.
'Well,' she said at last, 'where we were, in Dresden, things had not got to such a scandalous pitch yet. It's a little further from Paris, anyway, that's why. Don't you think that's it, Grigory Mihalitch, eh?'
'Don't I think so?' answered Litvinov. While he thought to himself, 'What on earth is she talking of?' 'I? Of course ... of course....'
But at this point the sound of slow footsteps was heard, and Potugin approached the seat.
'Good-morning, Grigory Mihalitch,' he began, smiling and nodding.
Litvinov grasped him by the hand at once.
'Good-morning, good-morning, Sozont Ivanitch. I fancy I passed you just now with ... just now in the avenue?'
Potugin bowed respectfully to the ladies sitting on the seat.
'Let me introduce you, Sozont Ivanitch. Old friends and relatives of mine, who have only just arrived in Baden. Potugin, Sozont Ivanitch, a countryman of ours, also staying in Baden.'
Both ladies rose a little. Potugin renewed his bows.
'It's quite a levée here,' Kapitolina Markovna began in a delicate voice; the kind-hearted old lady was easily intimidated, but she tried before all to keep up her dignity. 'Every one regards it as an agreeable duty to stay here.'
'Baden is an agreeable place, certainly,' answered Potugin, with a sidelong look at Tatyana; 'a very agreeable place, Baden.'
'Yes; but it's really too aristocratic, so far as I can form an opinion. You see we have been staying all this time in Dresden ... a very interesting town; but here there's positively a levée.'
'She's pleased with the word,' thought Potugin. 'You are perfectly right in that observation,' he said aloud; 'but then the scenery here is exquisite, and the site of the place is something one cannot often find. Your fellow-traveller especially is sure to appreciate that. Are you not, madam?' he added, addressing himself this time directly to Tatyana.