little by little the family gathered together upstairs in lizabetha prokofievna’s apartments, and prince muishkin found himself alone on the verandah when he arrived. he settled himself in a corner and sat waiting, though he knew not what he expected. it never struck him that he had better go away, with all this disturbance in the house. he seemed to have forgotten all the world, and to be ready to sit on where he was for years on end. from upstairs he caught sounds of excited conversation every now and then.