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died away; but the word love threw her into revolt again She

thought: "Love? Can he love? If he hadn't heard there was such

a thing as love, he would never have used the word He doesn't

even knohat love is"

"Alexey Alexandrovitch, really I don't understand," she said

"Define what it is you find"

"Pardon, letof myself; the most important persons in this matter are

our son and yourself It may very well be, I repeat, that my

words seem to you utterly unnecessary and out of place; it may be

that they are called forth by ive me But if you are conscious

yourself of even the s you

to think a little, and if your heart prompts you, to speak out to

so utterly

unlike what he had prepared

"I have nothing to say And besides," she said hurriedly, with

difficulty repressing a smile, "it's really time to be in bed"