On the day after the duel, all the town was assembled at the Marshal of Nobility's in honour of his wife's nameday.

Yulia Mihailovna was present, or, rather, presided, accompanied by Lizaveta Nikolaevna, radiant with beauty and peculiar gaiety, which struck many of our ladies at once as particularly suspicious at this time.

And I may mention, by the way, her engagement to Mavriky Nikolaevitch was by now an established fact.

To a playful question from a retired general of much consequence, of whom we shall have more to say later, Lizaveta Nikolaevna frankly replied that evening that she was engaged.

And only imagine, not one of our ladies would believe in her engagement.