not finding the prince on his death-bed, lizabetha prokofievna had been misled by his appearance to think him much better than he was. but his recent illness, the painful memories attached to it, the fatigue of this evening, the incident with "pavlicheff’s son," and now this scene with hippolyte, had all so worked on his oversensitive nature that he was now almost in a fever. moreover, a new trouble, almost a fear, showed itself in his eyes; he watched hippolyte anxiously as if expecting something further.