11 Farmer Boldwood becomes desperate 
　  
　　Liddy was allowed a week's holiday to visit her sister，who lived a few miles away. To avoid seeing Mr Bold－wood，Bathsheba herself arranged to visit Liddy at her sister's home for a day or two. She left her cleaning-woman，Maryann，in charge of the house，and set out on foot one evening. 
　　She had walked only about two miles when she saw，coming towards her，the one man who she did not wish to see. His changed appearance showed her that he had received her letter. 
　　‘Oh，is it you，Mr Boldwood？’she said，with a guilty blush. 
　　‘You know how I feel about you，’he said slowly. ‘A love as strong as death. A letter cannot change that feeling. ’ 
　　‘Don't speak of it，’she whispered. 
　　‘Then I have nothing to say. Your letter was excellently clear. We are not going to marry. ’ 
　　Bathsheba said confusedly，‘Good evening，’and walked on a little further. But Boldwood could not let her go. 
　　‘Bathsheba—darling—is it really final？’ 
　　‘Indeed it is. ’ 
　　‘Oh Bathsheba，have pity on me！I am mad with love for you！Don't refuse me now！You turned to me，and encour－aged me，before I ever thought of you！’ 
　　‘What you call encouragement was a childish joke. I'm deeply sorry I sent the valentine. Must you go on reminding me of it？’ 
　　‘I love you too much to blame you for it！Bathsheba，you are the first woman I have ever loved. How nearly you promised to marry me！What has happened to your kindness towards me？’ 
　　Bathsheba looked him quietly and openly in the face and said，‘Mr Boldwood，I promised you nothing. ’ 
　　‘How can you be so heartless！If I had known how awfully bitter this love would be，I'd have avoided you，and been deaf to you！I tell you all this，but what do you care！’ 
　　Bathsheba's control was breaking. She shook her head desperately as the man's angry words rained down on her. 
　　‘Forgive me，sir！I can't love as you can！’ 
　　‘That's not a good reason，Miss Everdene！You aren't the cold woman you're pretending to be！You're hiding the fact that you've a burning heart like mine. Your love is given to another man！’ 
　　He knows！she thought. He knows about Frank！ 
　　‘Why didn't Troy leave my darling alone？he continued fiercely. ‘Tell me honestly，if you hadn't met him，would you have accepted my proposal？’ 
　　She delayed her answer，but she was too honest to stay silent. ‘Yes，’she whispered. 
　　‘In my absence he stole my most valuable prize from me. Now I've lost my respect and my good name，and everybody laughs at me. Marry him，go on，marry him！I would have died for you，but you have given yourself to a worthless man. Perhaps he has even kissed you！Tell me he hasn't！’ 
　　She was frightened of Boldwood's anger，but she answered bravely，‘He has. I'm not ashamed to speak the truth. ’ 
　　‘I would have given a fortune to touch your hand，’cried Boldwood wildly，‘but you have let a man like that—kiss you！One day he'll be sorry，and realize the pain he's caused me！’ 
　　‘Be kind to him，sir，’she cried miserably，‘because I love him so much！’ 
　　Boldwood was no longer listening to her. ‘I'll punish him！Sweet Bathsheba，forgive me！I've been blaming you，but it's his fault. He stole your dear heart away with his lies. When I find him，I'll fight him！Keep him away from me，Bathsbeba！’ 
　　The desperate man stood still for a moment，then turned and left her. Bathsheba walked up and down，crying and whispering to herself，then threw herself down by the road，exhausted. She knew that Troy was away in Bath at the moment，but would be returning to Weatherbury very soon. If he came to visit her，and Boldwood saw him，a fierce argu-ment would be the result，and Troy could be hurt. But per-haps Gabriel and Boldwood were right，and she should not see him again？If she could only see Troy now，he would help her to decide！She jumped to her feet，and hurried back along the road to Weatherbury. 
　　That night Maryann，the only person sleeping in Bathsheba's house，was woken by strange noises in the field where the horses were kept. She looked out of her bedroom window just in time to see a dark figure leading Bathsheba's horse and cart out of the field. She ran to Jan Coggan's house for help. Jan and Gabriel immediately rode after the thief. After riding for some time in the dark，they finally caught up with the cart at a toll-gate. 
　　‘Keep the gate closed！’shouted Gabriel to the gatekeeper. 
　　‘That man's stolen the horse and cart！’ 
　　‘What man ？’asked the gatekeeper，puzzled. 
　　Gabriel looked closely at the driver of the cart，and saw a woman—Bathsheba. She turned her face away from the light when she heard his voice，but Jan Coggan had also recognized her. She was quick to hide her surprise but not her annoyance. 
　　‘Well，Gabriel，’she asked coldly，‘where are you going？’ 
　　‘We thought someone had stolen the horse and cart. ’ 
　　‘How foolish of you！Some important business made me change my plans. I'm on my way to Bath. I may visit Liddy at her sister's later. I arrived home during the night，so I didn't wake Maryann up. I Just took the horse and cart myself. Thank you for taking all this trouble，but it wasn't necessary. 
　　The gatekeeper opened the gate and she passed through. Coggan and Gabriel turned their horses and rode slowly home. 
　　Gabriel said，‘I think we'll keep this strange trip of hers to Bath a secret，Jan，’and Jan agreed. 
　　So at first the people of Weatherbury had no idea where she had gone. She stayed away for two weeks，and there were reports that she had been seen in Bath with Sergeant Troy. Gabriel knew in his heart that this must be true. He worked as hard as ever on her farm，but all the time there was a deep ache inside him.  
　 
11 农场主伯德伍德绝望了 
　  
　　利蒂获准休假一周去看她住在几英里以外的姐姐。芭丝谢芭为了不见伯德伍德先生，自己也安排好去利蒂姐姐家同利蒂待一两天。一天傍晚她把家留给清洁女工玛丽安照管，便徒步出发了。 
　　她刚刚走了大约两英里，便看到那个她不想见到的男人向她走来。他的表情发生了变化，说明他收到了那封信。 
　　“哟，是你呀，伯德伍德先生！”她说，负疚地红了脸。 
　　“你知道我对你的感情，”他缓慢地说，“像死一样强烈的爱。一封信是改变不了这种感情的。” 
　　“别说这个了，”她低声说道。 
　　“不说这个我就没别的说了。你的信已经说得明明白白，咱们不能结婚。” 
　　芭丝谢芭心情纷乱地说：“再见吧。”说着便向前走了几步，可是伯德伍德并不放她走。 
　　“芭丝谢芭——亲爱的——真的不能改变了吗？” 
　　“真的不能了。” 
　　“芭丝谢芭呀，可怜可怜我吧！我爱你都爱疯了，现在别拒绝我！是你先主动的，你激起了我的感情，才使我开始想念你的呀！” 
　　“你所说的激起，实际上是一个很孩子气的玩笑。我对那张情人卡感到非常抱歉。你还得要让我想起它来吗？” 
　　“我太爱你了，不会因此而责备你的。芭丝谢芭，你是我所爱过的第一个女人，你差点就答应嫁给我了！你对我的好心哪里去了？” 
　　芭丝谢芭静静地、大胆地看着他的脸，然后说：“伯德伍德先生，我什么也没答应你！” 
　　“你怎么能这样无情啊！如果我早知道这爱会让我如此痛苦，我早就避开你了，早就不听你所说的话了。我对你说了这么多，可是你却听不进一句！” 
　　芭丝谢芭的感情快抑制不住了，她听着这个男人劈头盖脸的愤怒的诉说，绝望地摇着头。 
　　“请原谅我，先生！我无法像你那样爱！” 
　　“这可不是理由，伊芙丁小姐！你并不像你所装出的那样冷酷，你也有一颗像我一样燃烧的心，可你把它藏起来了。你把爱给了别人！” 
　　他居然知道！她想。他知道弗兰克的事！ 
　　“托伊干吗不放过我亲爱的人呢？”他口气很激烈。“你实话告诉我，如果你没有碰见他，你会接受我求婚吗？” 
　　她没有马上回答，可她是个诚实的人，无法保持沉默。“是的。”她低声说道。 
　　“他趁我不在，偷走了我最珍贵的东西。现在我已失去自尊，失去了好名声，人们都在笑话我。嫁给他吧，去嫁给他吧！我本可以为你而死，可是你却把自己给了那么一个不值钱的人。他也许都吻过你了吧。对我说他没吻过你！” 
　　伯德伍德的愤怒令她恐惧，但是，她还是勇敢地说，“他是吻过我了，我并没对说实情感到羞耻。” 
　　“我愿用一笔财产作交换摸一下你的手，”伯德伍德狂烈地叫喊起来。“可你却让那样的一个人——吻你！总有一天他会后悔的，他会明白他给我造成的痛苦的！” 
　　“请宽恕他，先生，”她悲伤地喊道，“因为我太爱他了！” 
　　伯德伍德不再听她的话了。“我要惩罚他！可爱的芭丝谢芭，请原谅我！我一直在责备你，可这是他的错！他用谎言偷走了你的芳心。我见到他，是要揍他的！别让他见到我，芭丝谢芭！” 
　　这位绝望的人静静地站了一刻，便转身走开了。芭丝谢芭来回踱步，哭着，自语着，然后坐在路边，筋疲力竭。她知道此刻托伊远在巴斯，不过很快就会回到威瑟伯里来的。如果他来看她，让伯德伍德看到，结果将会是一场激烈的争吵，托伊会受伤的。不过，也许盖伯瑞尔和伯德伍德说得对，她不应该再见他了？但愿她此刻能见到托伊，他会帮她拿主意的！她跳起来，沿着路匆匆赶回威瑟伯里。 
　　晚上，玛丽安独自睡在芭丝谢芭的房子里。圈马的地里传来的奇怪声响惊醒了她。她从卧室窗户往外一看，正巧看到一个黑影赶着芭丝谢芭的马车往外走。她赶忙跑到简·考根家求援，简和盖伯瑞尔立即骑马去追盗贼。在黑暗中骑行了一会儿，他们终于在路卡处追上了那辆马车。 
　　“别开卡门！”盖伯瑞尔向守卡人喊道。“那个男的偷了马车了！” 
　　“什么男的？”守卡人问道，一脸的迷惑。 
　　盖伯瑞尔仔细看了一下赶车的人，看到的却是一个女人——芭丝谢芭。芭丝谢芭听到他的声音，扭脸避开灯光，可是简·考根也已经认出了她。她很快便掩饰住自己惊诧的表情，却藏不住一脸的恼怒。 
　　“是你，盖伯瑞尔，”她冷冷地发问。“你要去哪儿？” 
　　“我们还以为有人偷走马车了呢。” 
　　“你们真蠢！我有要紧的事要办，所以改变了计划，我要去巴斯。我以后再到利蒂的姐姐家去看她。我晚上到的家，所以就没叫醒玛丽安，自己赶出了马车。谢谢你们费的这番周折，不过你们没必要。” 
　　守卡人打开卡门，她便出去了。考根和盖伯瑞尔掉转马头，慢慢往回骑。盖伯瑞尔说：“我想，她这次到巴斯的奇怪旅行应该保密。”简说他也同意保密。 
　　这样，威瑟伯里的人起初并不知道她到了何处。她有两个星期没在，接着有人说在巴斯看见她同托伊中士在一起。盖伯瑞尔心里知道这消息没锗。他虽然还像往常一样在她的农场里辛勤劳作，但心灵深处却一直在隐隐作痛。 
　　　    


 