She reeled and made a dash into the parlour, and suddenly changing her demeanour and tactics she said quietly to Prepolovenskaya, bowing so low before her that she almost fell on the floor: "My dear lady, Sofya Efimovna, forgive a drunken old woman; I have something I'd like to say to you. You come to visit these people and yet you don't know that they're gossiping about your sister. And who to, d'you suppose? Me! A bootmaker's drunken wife! And why? So I'd tell everyone--that's why!" Varvara grew purple in the face and said: "I said nothing of the sort." "You didn't? Do you mean to deny it, you mean cat?" shouted Ershova, coming up to Varvara, with clenched fists. "Be quiet, will you?" muttered Varvara, in confusion. "No," said the landlady, spitefully, "I won't be quiet," and she turned again to Prepolovenskaya. "Do you know what she says, the little beast? She tried to make out that your sister is carrying on with your husband!" Sofya's sly eyes gleamed angrily at Varvara; she rose and said with a feigned laugh: "Thank you humbly, I didn't expect that." "Liar!" screamed Varvara, turning on Ershova. Ershova gave an angry exclamation, stamped her foot, shook her hand at Varvara, and turned again to Prepolovenskaya. "Yes, and do you know what he says about you, ma'am? He makes out that you carried on before you met your husband. That's the sort of dirty people they are! Spit in their mugs, my good lady! It's no use having anything to do with such low creatures!" Prepolovenskaya flushed, and went silently into the passage. Peredonov ran after her, trying to explain: "She's lying, don't believe her. I only said once before her that you were a fool and that was in a spiteful mood. But more than that, honest to God, I never said anything. She invented it." Prepolovenskaya reassured him: "Don't think about it, Ardalyon Borisitch, I can see myself that she's drunk and babbling. Only, why do you permit this in your house?" "Well, what's to be done with her?" asked Peredonov. Prepolovenskaya, confused and angry, was putting on her jacket. Peredonov did not offer to help her. He kept on mumbling excuses, but she paid no attention to him. He returned to the parlour. Ershova began to reproach him loudly, while Varvara ran out on the verandah to try and mollify Prepolovenskaya: "You know yourself what a fool he is, he sometimes says anything that comes into his head." "All right, all right! Don't mention it," replied Prepolovenskaya. "A drunken woman might babble anything." Tall, dense nettles grew in the yard near the verandah. Prepolovenskaya smiled slightly and the last shadow of displeasure vanished from her plump white face. She became affable again towards Varvara. She would be revenged without an open quarrel. Together they went into the garden to wait until the landlady's eruption was over. Prepolovenskaya kept looking at the nettles which grew in abundance along the garden fence. She said at last: