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 [1] 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.[2]
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[3] 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…,”[4] said Andy.
Miss Conway was silent. At last[5] 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.”
The more Andy thought of Miss Conway the more he was sorry for her[7]. Once he said to her at table:
“It`s hard to be alone in New York. You should go out[8] 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[9] 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[10] 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.
“That is why I am wearing black. That is why I am always sad. I cannot take and interest in anybody. If you wish to walk back to the house, Mr. Donovan, let`s go.”
Andy Donovan did not wish to walk back to the house.
“I am very sorry,[11]” he said softly. “No, we won`t go[12] back to the house, not yet[13]. And don`t say that you have no friends in this city, Miss Conway. I`m very, very sorry for you. And you must believe that I`m your friend.”
"I have a small photograph with me," said Miss Conway. "I have never shown it to anybody. But I will show it to you, Mr. Donovan, because I believe that you are my friend."
Mr. Donovan looked at the photograph with much interest and for a long time. The face of Count Manzzini was an interesting one.[14] It was a clever face of a strong man.
"I have a larger photo of him in my room," said Miss Conway. "When we get back to the house I'll show it to you. I look at it many times a day.[15] He will always be present in my heart."[16]
When they came into the hall of the boarding-house she ran up to her room and brought down a big photograph of the dead man.
"A fine-looking man," said Donovan. "I like his face very much. Miss Conway, may I ask you to come to the theatre with me next Sunday?"
***
A month later they told Mrs. Scott that they were going to get merried. But in spite of[17] this Miss Conway continued to wear black.
One evening Mr. Donovan and Miss Conway were sitting in the park. It was a fine clear night. The moon shone brightly on the green leaves. Everything around them was very beautiful. But Donovan was silent. He had been so silent all day that Miss Conway at last decided to ask him a question.
"What is the matter,[18] Andy?"
"Nothing, Maggie."
"But you never looked so unhappy before. What is it?"
"It's nothing much,[19] Maggie."
"I want to know, Andy. I am sure you are thinking about some other girl. Well, why don't you go to her if you love her? Take your arm away,[20] please!"
"All right, I'll tell you," said Andy. "I have a friend. His name is Mike Sullivan. Do you know him?"
"No, I don't," said Maggie. "And I don't want to know him if you are so unhappy because of[21] him."
"He is a good friend, Maggie," continued Andy. "I saw him yesterday and I told him I was going to get married in two weeks,[22]" 'Andy', says he, 'I want to be present at your wedding. Send me an invitation and I'll come'."
"Well, why don't you invite him then if he wants so much to come?" said Maggie.
"There is a reason why I can't invite him," said Andy sadly. "There is a reason why he must not be present at our wedding. Don't ask me any more questions now, because I can't answer them."
"You must! You must tell me everything," said Maggie.
"All right," answered Andy. "Maggie, do you love me as much as you loved your... Your Count Mazzini?"
He waited a long time, but Maggie did not answer. Suddenly she turned to him and began to cry.
"Andy," said Maggie at last, "I have lied to you, and you will never marry me. You will never love me any more. But I feel that I must tell you everything. Andy, there was no count in my life. There was nobody who loved me in all my life. All the other girls always talked about love and marriage. But nobody loved me. Nobody wanted to marry me. So at last I thought a plan. I went to a photographer and bought that big photo which I showed you. He also made a small one for me. Then I invented that story about the Count and about the gondola accident so that[24] I could wear black. I look well in black, and you know it. But nobody can love a liar. And you will now leave me, Andy, and I shall die for shame[25]. You are the one man I loved[26] in my life. That's all."
But instead of leaving her,[27] Andy put his arms about her[28] and looked into her face. She looked up and saw how happy he was.
"Can you... Can you forget it, Andy?" she asked.
"Of cause, I can," said Andy. "I'm glad you have told me everything, Maggie."
They were silent for some time. Then Maggie said:
"Andy, did you believe all this story about the Count?"
"Well, not all of it,[29] said Andy, "because the photograph you have shown me is the photograph of my friend, Mike Sullivan."
[2] He turned his head… and his head turned. – Он повернул голову… и голова у него закружилась (игра слов).
[7] The more Andy thought of Miss Conway the more he was sorry for her. – Чем больше Энди думал о мисс Конвей, тем больше он ей сочувствовал (to be sorry – сочувствовать; раскаиваться, извиняться)
[9] While walking – во время прогулки (досл. Во время гуляния; walking – продолженное действие, состояние: гуляющий, гуляние как длящийся процесс)
[10] We were going to get married – мы собирались пожениться (to be going to do something – собираться, намереваться что-либо сделать)
[12] We won`t = we will not (will – модальный глагол, выражает намерение, решимость, особенно в 1-м лице единственного числа I will - примерно равно "я намерен")
[13] Not yet – (пока) ещё нет
[14] An interesting one – интересное лицо (местоимение one употребляется во избежание повторения слова face)
[15] Many times a day – много раз в день
[17] In spite of – несмотря на
[19] Nothing much – ничего особенного
[27] Instead of leaving her – вместо того, чтобы покинуть её
Огромное человеческое спасбо! HH
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