e Epanchins had left the
place. He grew very pale on hearing the news; but a moment later he
nodded his head, and said thoughtfully:

"I knew it was bound to be so." Then he added quickly:

"Where have they gone to?"

Evgenie meanwhile observed him attentively, and the rapidity of the
questions, their simplicity, the prince's candour, and at the same
time, his evident perplexity and mental agitation, surprised him
considerably. However, he told Muishkin all he could, kindly and
in detail. The prince hardly knew anything, for this was the first
informant from the household whom he had met since the estrangement.

Evgenie reported that Aglaya had been really ill, and that for two
nights she had not slept at all, owing to high fever; that now she was
better and out of serious danger, but still in a nervous, hysterical
state.

"It's a good thing that there is peace in the house, at all events," he
continued. "They never utter a hint about the past, not only in Aglaya's
presence, but even among themselves. The old people are talking of a
trip abroad in the autumn, immediately after Adelaida's wedding; Aglaya
received the news in silence."

Evgenie himself was very likely going abroad also; so were Prince S.
and his wife, if affairs allowed of it; the general was to stay at home.
They were all at their estate of Colmina now, about twenty miles or so
from St. Petersburg. Princess Bielokonski had not returned to Moscow
yet, and was apparently staying on for reasons of her own. Lizabetha
Prokofievna had insisted that it was quite impossible to remain in
Pavlofsk after what had happened. Evgenie had told her of all the
rumours current in town about the affair; so that there could be no talk
of their going to their house on the Yelagin as yet.

"And in point of fact, prince," added Evgenie Pavlovitch, "you must
allow that they could hardly have stayed here, considering that they
knew of all that went on at your place, and in the face of your daily
visits to their house, visits which you insisted upon making in spite of
their refusal to see you."

"Yes--yes, quite so; you are quite right. I wished to see Aglaya
Ivanovna, you know!" said the prince, nodding his head.

"Oh, my dear fellow," cried Evgenie, warmly, with real sorrow in his
voice, "how could you permit all that to come about as it has? Of
course, of course, I know it was all so unexpected. I admit that you,
only naturally, lost your head, and--and could not st