Who is Richards in The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin?

Richards is Brently Mallard's best friend. He was at the newspaper office when they received word of the train wreck, and he was present in the Mallard home when Louise was informed of her husband's death.

Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed."