“Very! Delicately, daintily beautiful. But no doubt you will see her for yourself—as a friend of her late husband’s father, you will call upon her, will you not?”
“Why should I?” I said, gruffly—“I have no wish to meet her! Besides, an inconsolable widow seldom cares to receive visitors—I shall not intrude upon her sorrows!”
Never was there a better move than this show of utter indifference I affected. The less I appeared to care about seeing the Countess Romani, the more anxious Ferrari was to introduce me—(introduce me!—to my wife!)—and he set to work preparing his own doom with assiduous ardor.
“Oh, but you must see her!” he exclaimed, eagerly. “She will receive you, I am sure, as a special guest. Your age and your former acquaintance with her late husband’s family will win from her the utmost courtesy, believe me! Besides, she is not really inconsolable—” He paused suddenly. We had arrived at the entrance of my hotel. I looked at him steadily.
“Not really inconsolable?” I repeated, in a tone of inquiry. Ferrari broke into a forced laugh,
“Why no!” he said, “What would you? She is young and light-hearted—perfectly lovely and in the fullness of youth and health. One cannot expect her to weep long, especially for a man she did not care for.”
I ascended the hotel steps. “Pray come in!” I said, with an inviting movement of my hand. “You must take a glass of wine before you leave. And so—she did not care for him, you say?”
Encouraged by my friendly invitation and manner, Ferrari became more at his ease than ever, and hooking his arm through mine as we crossed the broad passage of the hotel together, he replied in a confidential tone:
“My dear conte, how can a woman love a man who is forced upon her by her father for the sake of the money he gives her? As I told you before, my late friend was utterly insensible to the beauty of his wife—he was cold as a stone, and preferred his books. Then naturally she had no love for him!”
By this time we had reached my apartments, and as I threw open the door, I saw that Ferrari was taking in with a critical eye the costly fittings and luxurious furniture. In answer to this last remark, I said with a chilly smile: