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lidly for several hours in the churchyard，putting the plants carefully into the soft earth of her grave。 When it start… ed raining，however，he decided to spend the rest of the night in the shelter of the church，and finish his planting in the morning。
The rain that night was unusually heavy，and water began to pour from a broken pipe on the church roof straight on to Fanny's grave。 As the earth there had only recently been dug，the grave became a kind of muddy pool。 Soon the plants were floating on top of the grave，and then were washed away in the stream of water flowing through the churchyard。
When Troy woke up，stiff and still tired，he went out of the church to finish work on the grave。 The rain had stopped，and the sun was shining through the red and gold autumn leaves。 The air was warm and clear。 As Troy walked along the path，he noticed it was very muddy，and covered with plants。 Surely these could not be the ones he had planted？He turned the corner and saw the damage the heavy rain had done。
The new gravestone was stained with mud，and there was a shallow hole in the grave，where the water had poured in。 Nearly all the plants had been washed out of the grave。
This strange accident had a worse effect on Troy than any of his troubles，worse even than Fanny's death。 He had tried to show his love for her，knowing that he had failed to do so when she was alive。 Planting the flowers was also a way of softening his feelings of sadness and guilt at her death。 And now his work had been destroyed！He was too depressed to start work on the grave again。 He left it as it was，and went silently out of the churchyard A minute later he had left the village。
Meanwhile Bathsheba had spent a day and a night as a willing prisoner in a small bedroom in her house。 Except when Liddy brought her food or messages，she kept the bedroom door locked so that her husband could not come in Liddy knew there was trouble between husband and wife，but did not know the reason。 On Wednesday morning she brought breakfast up to Bathsheba。
‘What heavy rain we had in the night，ma'am！’she said。
‘Yes，and there was a strange noise from the churchyard。 ’
‘Gabriel thinks it was water from a broken pipe on the church roof，and he's gone there to see。 Are you going to the churchyard，ma'am，to look at Fanny's grave？’
‘Did Mr Troy come in last night？’Bathsheba asked anxiously。
‘No，ma'am，he didn't。 And Laban Tall says he saw Mr Troy walking out of the village towards Budmouth，’replied Liddy。
Budmouth，thirteen miles away！At once Bathsheba's heart felt lighter。 ‘Yes，Liddy，I need some fresh air。 I'll go to see Fanny's grave，’she said，and after breakfast she walked almost cheerfully to the churchyard。
She saw the hole in the grave and the expensive new grave…stone，but did not think it could be Fanny's。 She looked round for a plain grave。 Then she noticed Gabriel reading the words on the gravestone，and her eyes followed his：
This stone was put up by Francis Troy in loving memory
of Fanny Robin，who died on October 9，1866，aged 20
Gabriel looked anxiously at her to see if she was upset，but she remained calm。 She asked him to fill in the hole，and have the broken water pipe repaired。 Finally，to show she did not hate the woman who had caused her such bitterness，she replanted the flowers herself，and cleaned the muddy grave…stone，so that the words could be read clearly。 Then she went home。
Troy，meanwhile，was walking towards the south。 He could not decide what to do next。 All he knew was that he had to get away from Weatherbury。 At the top of a hill he saw the sea，stretching for miles in front of him。 Now he felt more cheerful，and decided to swim。 So he climbed down the cliffs，undressed on the beach and jumped into the sea。 The water was so smooth that he swam confidently out to where it was very deep。 Here he was surprised and a little frightened to find that he was being carried further out to sea。 He suddenly remembered that the Budmouth coast was famous for the num…ber of swimmers drowned there every year，and he began to be afraid that he would soon be one of them。 However strongly he swam，the sea pulled him further away from the coast，and he was already beginning to feel tired and breathless。 Just then he saw a small boat moving out to sea，towards a ship。 With his right arm he swam，and with his left he waved wildly，shouting as loudly as he could。 The sailors saw him at once，and rowed over to rescue him。
17
Farmer Boldwood begins to hope
When Troy did not return，Bathsheba felt neither happiness nor sadness。 She had no hope for the fu…ture。 She was sure that one day he would return，and spend the rest of her money。 Then they would have to sell the farm。 She could do nothing to prevent it。
One Saturday at Casterbridge market，a stranger came up to her。 ‘I must tell you，ma'am，’he said，‘your husband is dead。 ’
‘No，it can't be true！’gasped Bathsheba。 Darkness came over her eyes，and she fell。 But not to the ground。 Boldwood，who had been standing in a corner watching her，ran forward to catch her。
‘Tell me more，’he said to the stranger，as he held the unconscious girl gently in his arms。
‘The police found her husband's clothes on the beach。 He must have been swimming，and drowned off the Budmouth coast。 ’
There was a strange excitement in Boldwood's face，but he said nothing。 He carried her to a private room at the hotel，where she could rest until she felt well enough to ride home。
When she arrived home，still feeling weak and confused，Liddy had already heard the news。 ‘Shall we get some black clothes made for you，ma'am？’said the maid，hesitating a little。
‘No，Liddy。 It isn't necessary。 You see，I think he may still be alive。 I feel—I think I'm sure he's alive！’
But the following Monday Troy's death was reported in the local newspaper。 A witness had seen him in deep water，shouting and waving for help。 And when his clothes and his watch，found on the beach，were delivered to the farmhouse，Bathsheba began to doubt that he was alive。 She opened the back of his watch case and took out the curl of golden hair。
‘He was Fanny's and she was his，’she said to herself。 ‘They should be together。 I mean nothing to either of them。 Why should I keep her hair？’She held the curl over the fire。 ‘No，I won't burn it，I'll keep it in memory of her，poor thing！’
Through the autumn and winter Bathsheba's life was more peaceful She no longer took such an interest in the farm，and very sensibly appointed Gabriel Oak her farm manager。 He had already been doing the job unofficially，and now would be paid for it。 At last his good qualities were being recognized。 Gabriel's luck had certainly changed。 Boldwood could not concentrate on farming these days either。 His wheat and hay had all been so damaged by the rain that it was worthless。 Weatherbury people were shocked by the changes they had no…ticed recently in Farmer Boldwood。 Soon he himself realized that something must be done，and arranged for Gabriel to manage his farm too。 So Gabriel was responsible for both the important farms in the area，while their owners sat alone in their lonely farmhouses。
After a time Boldwood started to hope that one day，if Bathsheba remarried at all，she would marry him。 He tried to maintain a friendly，businesslike relationship with her，keeping his love for her out of sight，until the right moment came to propose again。 He had no idea how long he would have to wait to marry her，but he was prepared to wait for the rest of his life。
The right moment did not come until the following summer when most of the Weatherbury people attended the great sheep fair at。 Greenhill。 Gabriel was there with Bathsheba's and Boldwood's sheep，and so were both his employers。 This year a travelling circus put up its tent and offered the public a horse…riding show。 Most of Bathsheba's farm workers were already in the tent，when Bathsheba herself arrived to see the show。 At the back of the tent，behind a curtain，were the circus riders，and one of them，pulling on his boots，was Sergeant Troy。
After being rescued，Troy had decided to stay on the ship and work as a sailor，but he was not happy with this travelling life，and finally returned to England。 He hesitated to go back to Bathsheba and a comfortable life on the farm。 Perhaps Bathsheba would fail at farming and then he would be respon…sible for her。 And anyway，perhaps she would not welcome him back。 For the moment he was working as actor and horse…rider with the circus。 So it was with no plans for the future that Troy found himself at Greenhill fair，dangerously close to Weatherbury。
When he looked through a hole in the curtain to see the audience，he was horrified to see his wife。 She looked more beautiful than he remembered。 Perhaps she would laugh at him，a nobleman's son，working in a circus！As he rode into the tent，he was careful to keep his face away from her，and remain wrapped in his cloak。 She did not seem to recognize him。
When the show was over，Troy went out into the darkness。 In the large tent where meals and drinks were being served，he saw Bathsheba talking to a man。 Was she