How I spent the night and the next day till the evening I can’t tell
you. I only remember that I lay, my face hid in my hands, I recalled
her smile before our kiss, I whispered--‘At last, she.…’
I recalled, too, Madame Eltsov’s words, which Vera had repeated to me.
She had said to her once, ‘You are like ice; until you melt as strong
as stone, but directly you melt there’s nothing of you left.’
Another thing recurred to my mind; Vera and I had once been talking of
talent, ability.
‘There’s only one thing I can do,’ she said; ‘keep silent till the last
minute.’