О. Генри (O. Henry)📚 O.Henry. The count and the wedding guest
Andy Donovan was a boarder at Mrs. Scott`s boarding-house.
One evening he came to dinner and Mrs. Scott introduced him to a new boarder, a young girl, Miss Conway.
Miss Conway was small and quite simple. She wore a plain brown dress. After the introduction, she did not speak to Andy Donovan. She sat looking at her plate and he forgot Miss Conway almost at once.
Two weeks later Andy was sitting on the front steps of the boarding house, smoking a cigar. Suddenly somebody came out. He turned his head… and his head turned.
Miss Conway was coming out of the door. She wore a beautiful black dress and a beautiful black hat. Her shoes and her gloves were black too. Her rich golden hair and her large grey eyes made her almost beautiful. She stood looking above the houses across the street up into the sky. Her eyes were sad. All in black, and that sad far-away look and the golden hair shining under the black veil…
Mr. Donovan threw away his unfinished cigar.
“It`s a fine, clear evening, Miss Conway,” he said.
“Yes, it is,” answer Miss Conway, “but not for me, Mr. Donovan.”
“I hope none of your family is…,” said Andy.
Miss Conway was silent. At last, she said:
“Not my family. Death has taken from me somebody who was very, very dear to me… Now I am alone in the world. And I have no friends in this city.”
Andy Donovan did not ask any more questions and their conversation came to an end.
The more Andy thought of Miss Conway the more he was sorry for her. Once he said to her at table:
“It`s hard to be alone in New York. You should go out sometimes to forget your trouble. Do you wish to take a walk in the park, Miss Conway? If you allow me…”
“Thank you, Mr. Donovan,” said Miss Conway. “I shall be very glad to have your company. You are very kind.”
While walking in the park Miss Conway told Andy her sad story.
His name was Fernando Mazzini and he was an Italian Count. He had a lot of land and a villa in Italy. We were going to get married next spring. Fernando went to Italy to make his villa ready for us. After he left, I came to New York to get a job. Three days ago, I received a letter from Italy. It says that Fernando is dead. He was killed in a gondola accident.