روز عروسی

Chapter 13 The Wedding Day

On the day of his wedding Guy was waiting in the church with his friend, Bob Treacher, for Anne to arrive.

‘Did you bring any whisky, Bob?’ Guy asked. ‘I need a drink.’

bottle with a smile.

Guy opened the bottle and put it on a table. After a few seconds he picked it up and threw it against the wall. Broken glass and whisky spread all over the floor. Guy stood with his back to Bob.

‘I’m very sorry, Bob,’ he said.

‘It’s all right, Guy,’ he said. ‘You’re nervous.’

‘No, I’m not nervous,’ Guy thought. ‘When are they going to stop this wedding? When are they all going to know about me?

This is worse than the murder. I’m lying to Anne, but only she can save me.’

Guy could not stop the wedding. It was like the murder of Bruno’s father. Guy felt he was an actor in a bad play, doing something he had done thousands of times before. At the party afterwards Guy suddenly saw Bruno’s face smiling madly. Then it disappeared.

‘Congratulations, Guy!’ People were all shouting at the same time. ‘Good luck, Guy and Anne.’ The noise got louder and louder.

‘Good luck! Good luck! GUY AND ANNE ! ‘ ‘Good luck, Guy. I really want you and Anne to be happy, as happy as I am.’ And there was that soft voice and that weak face with the mad red eyes in it and Bruno’s hand was on Guy’s shoulder and he was looking at Anne.

‘Go away,’ Guy whispered. ‘You mustn’t come here!’

‘Are you a relation of Teddy Faulkner?’ Bruno asked Anne. He shook her hand.

‘He’s my cousin,’ Anne said.

‘We play tennis sometimes,’ Bruno said.

‘Are you a friend of Guy’s?’ Anne asked.

Bruno laughed. ‘Friend! I’m only his oldest friend in the world.

We went to school together.’ He put his arm round Guy’s shoulder.

‘Didn’t we, Guy?’

‘You never told me about that man, Guy,’ Anne said later.

‘We didn’t really go to school together, Anne,’ Guy said quickly. ‘I — I met him at the Parker Institute . . . it was last December.’

‘Can’t you see?’ Guy thought as he looked at all the people in the room who were speaking to Bruno. ‘Can’t you see he’s mad?’