‘This is something I never expected from you,’ said the staff captain, with a grave and stern look about him. ‘You won’t apologize, but, my good sir, it’s not only him, it’s the whole regiment, all of us, that you’ve offended. You’re completely in the wrong. Listen. If only you’d stopped and thought for a minute, taken a bit of advice about what to do . . . but no, you had to go and blurt it all out before all the officers. So what’s the colonel supposed to do next? Charge the officer and disgrace the whole regiment? Shame the whole regiment because of one cad? Go on, should he do that? I’ll tell you what we think – no! Bogdanych was a good fellow. He just told you that what you were saying couldn’t be true. It’s not very nice, but what else could he do? Listen, old man, you brought this on yourself. And now when people are trying to hush things up a bit, you get on your high horse and refuse to apologize – you want the whole story to come out. You see red because you’ve been given some extra duty. Well, why can’t you just go and apologize to an old and honourable officer? Say what you will about Bogdanych, but he is an honourable and gallant old colonel. But oh no, you feel you’ve been slighted, and you don’t mind disgracing the whole regiment!’ The staff captain’s voice became shaky. ‘You, sir, are a new boy in this regiment. You’re here today, and tomorrow you’ll be a nice little adjutant somewhere else. You couldn’t care less if people start saying there is thieving among the Pavlograd officers! But we care! Don’t we, Denisov? Don’t we care?’
Denisov neither moved nor spoke. Now and then his gleaming black eyes settled on Rostov.
‘Your pride means a lot to you, so you won’t apologize,’ continued the staff captain, ‘but we old-timers, we’ve grown up in this regiment and please God we’ll die in it . . . and the honour of our regiment means a lot to us, and Bogdanych knows that. I’ll say it does! But this is wrong. It’s just wrong! I don’t want to offend you, but I always speak plain. And this is wrong!’
At this the staff captain got up and turned his back on Rostov.
‘Too damn twue!’ shouted Denisov, jumping to his feet. ‘Come on, Wostov, what about it?’
Rostov, turning red and then white, looked from one to the other. ‘No, gentlemen, no . . . er, please don’t think . . . I . . . I see what you mean . . . you’ve got me wrong . . . for me . . . for the honour of the regiment . . . I’d . . . well listen, I’ll show you what . . . I can honour our colours . . . well, anyway, what you say is true, I am in the wrong!’ His eyes had filled with tears. ‘I’m completely in the wrong! Well, what more do you want?’
‘Now you’re talking, Count,’ cried the staff captain, turning round and clapping him on the shoulder with a huge hand.
‘I tell you,’ shouted Denisov, ‘he’s a weal man.’
‘That’s better, Count,’ repeated the captain, using his title in appreciation of his confession. ‘Go and apologize, your Excellency. Yes, sir, that’s what you must do.’
‘Gentlemen, I’ll do anything. You won’t hear a peep out of me,’ Rostov went on in a voice of supplication, ‘but I can’t apologize, for God’s sake. I just can’t, whatever you say! How can I go and apologize, like a little boy asking to go unpunished?’
Denisov laughed.
‘It’ll be worse if you don’t. Bogdanych has a long memory. He’ll make you pay for being awkward,’ said Kirsten.
‘Good God, I’m not being awkward! I can’t describe how it feels . . . No, I can’t do it!’
‘Well, it’s your decision,’ said the staff captain. ‘By the way, where has that swine hidden himself?’ he asked Denisov.
‘He’s weported sick. There’s an order for him to be stwuck off tomowwow,’ said Denisov.
‘Well, he must be ill. There’s no other explanation,’ said the staff captain.
‘Ill or not, he’d better keep out of my way – I’ll kill him,’ came the bloodthirsty cry from Denisov.
In came Zherkov.
‘What are you doing here?’ cried the officers, turning to the newcomer.
‘We’re going into battle, gentlemen. Mack has surrendered – with his whole army.’
‘Nonsense!’
‘I’ve seen him with my own eyes.’
‘You’ve what? Seen Mack alive, with all his limbs intact?’
‘Into battle! Into battle! Give that man some vodka for bringing news like that! But why have you come?’
‘I’ve been sent back to my regiment because of that devil, Mack. The Austrian general filed a complaint against me. All I did was compliment him on Mack’s arrival . . . Hey, what’s wrong with you, Rostov? You look as if you’ve just come out of the bath-house.’
‘Oh, we’ve had a spot of bother for a couple of days, old man.’
Then the regimental adjutant came in and confirmed Zherkov’s news. They were under marching orders for the next day.
‘Into battle, gentlemen!’
‘Well, thank God for that! We’ve been stuck here long enough!’
CHAPTER 6
