The lady indicated her approval of his explanation by a nod of her head.

“It follows⁠ ⁠…” the lawyer continued⁠—but the nervous man whose eyes now glowed as if aflame and who had evidently restrained himself with difficulty, began without letting the lawyer finish: “Yes, I mean exactly the same thing, a preference for one person over everybody else, and I am only asking: a preference for how long?”

“For how long? For a long time; for life sometimes,” replied the lady, shrugging her shoulders.

“Oh, but that happens only in novels and never in real life. In real life this preference for one may last for years (that happens very rarely), more often for months, or perhaps for weeks, days, or hours,” he said, evidently aware that he was astonishing everybody by his views and pleased that it was so.

“Oh, what are you saying?” “But no⁠ ⁠…” “No, allow me⁠ ⁠…” we all three began at once. Even the clerk uttered an indefinite sound of disapproval.