He sprayed his handkerchief with scent, but only so slightly, and, as soon as he caught sight of Varvara Petrovna through the window, he hastily picked up another handkerchief, and hid the scented one under a pillow.
We all know he's vain but Varvara Petrovna suppresses that side of him because he's afraid of her. And we know by the next chapter that he is in terrible shame during all this time. Anyway it always comes out later in an outburst of eloquence and French with Stepan.
