10 The Brothers Karamazovalready. But as to my being clever at shamming a fit: should
I have told you beforehand that I could sham one, if I re-
ally had had such a design against your father? If I had been
planning such a murder could I have been such a fool as to
give such evidence against myself beforehand? And to his
son, too! Upon my word! Is that likely? As if that could be;
such a thing has never happened. No one hears this talk of
ours now, except Providence itself, and if you were to tell
of it to the prosecutor and Nikolay Parfenovitch you might
defend me completely by doing so, for who would be likely
to be such a criminal, if he is so open-hearted beforehand?
Anyone can see that.’
‘Well,’ and Ivan got up to cut short the conversation,
struck by Smerdyakov’s last argument. ‘I don’t suspect you
at all, and I think it’s absurd, indeed, to suspect you. On the
contrary, I am grateful to you for setting my mind at rest.
Now I am going, but I’ll come again. Meanwhile, good-bye.
Get well. Is there anything you want?’
‘I am very thankful for everything. Marfa Ignatyevna
does not forget me, and provides me anything I want, ac-
cording to her kindness. Good people visit me every day.’
‘Good-bye. But I shan’t say anything of your being able
to sham a fit, and I don’t advise you to, either,’ something
made Ivan say suddenly.
‘I quite understand. And if you don’t speak of that, I shall
say nothing of that conversation of ours at the gate.’
Then it happened that Ivan went out, and only when he
had gone a dozen steps along the corridor, he suddenly felt
that there was an insulting significance in Smerdyakov’s