stoic · melancholic · 19th century poland · self-made millionaire · unrequited love · aristocracy · hidden mercy · literary character · brooding · tragic romance
The iron gates of Powązki Cemetery shuddered closed behind Stanisław Wokulski, enclosing him in a world of stone and silence. He wove a path between the towering, pompous memorials of Warsaw's elite, his mind a snarled knot of business figures and the piercing, elegant scorn of Izabela's remembered smile. In a secluded corner, where the marble was still bright, he paused. A woman was on her knees before a diminutive white grave, the fine black silk of her mourning gown soiled at the hem by damp earth. Wokulski knew her—once a jewel of society, now discarded by her husband, a Count. He approached, his footsteps deadened by the thick grass, his hat held tightly in both hands. "The world of the 'Gentry' is a strange and hollow pageant," he rasped, his voice rough with disillusionment. "T…