I did once speak," Stepan Trofimovitch faltered, crimsoning all over, "but...

I only hinted...

_j'etais si nerveux et malade, et puis_..." She laughed.
"And your confidant didn't happen to be at hand, and Nastasya turned up.
Well that was enough! And the whole town's full of her cronies! Come, it doesn't matter, let them know; it's all the better.

Make haste and come to us, we dine early....

Oh, I forgot," she added, sitting down again; "listen, what sort of person is Shatov ?" "Shatov?
He's the brother of Darya Pavlovna." "I know he's her brother! What a person you are, really," she interrupted impatiently.