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‘I can't see him like this，Liddy！’said Bathsheba，looking in horror at her dusty dress。 ‘Go down and tell him I'm busy。 ’
When Liddy came back， after Mr Boldwood had gone，Bathsheba asked，‘What did he want， Liddy？ And who is he，exactly？’
‘He just wanted to ask if Fanny had been found，miss。 You know，as she had no family or friends，he was kind enough to pay for her to go to school，and found her a job here with your uncle。 He's your neighbour。 His farm is next to yours。 ’
‘Is he married？ And how old is he？’
‘He isn't married。 He's abeut forty，very handsome—and rich。 All the girls in the area have tried to persuade him to marry。 But he just doesn't seem interested in women。 Have you ever had an offer of marriage，miss？’
‘Yes，I have，Liddy，’answered Bathsheba after a pause，thinking of Gabriel。 ‘But he wasn't quite good enough for me。 ’
‘Oh，how nice to be able to refuse，when most of us are glad to accept the first offer！ And did you love him，miss？’
‘Oh no。 But I rather liked him。 ’
In the afternoon Bathsheba called her workers together，and spoke to them in the old hall of the farmhouse。
‘Men，I want to tell you that I'm not going to employ a new farm manager。 I shall manage the farm myself。 ’There were gasps of surprise from the men。 She gave her orders for the next week's farm work and then turned to one of the 46 men。 ‘Billy Smallbury， what have you discovered about Fanny Robin？’
‘I think she's run away with her young man，ma'am。 The soldiers have left Casterbridge，and I suppose she's gone with them。 ’
‘Well，perhaps we'll discover more later。 One of you can go and tell Mr Boldwood what Billy says。 Now，men，I hope I can trust you all to do your work well for me。 Goodnight。 ’
Later that evening，in a town many miles north of Weather bury，a small white shape could be seen walking slowly along a path beside a large building。 It was a dull，snowy night，with heavy grey clouds hanging low in the sky，the kind of night when hopes are destroyed and love is lost。
‘One。 Two。 Three。 Four。 Five。 ’The white shape was counting windows in the building。 Then it began to throw small stones，covered in snow，at the fifth window。 At last the window opened，and a man called out，‘Who's there？’
‘Is that Sergeant Troy？’asked a girl's voice。
‘Yes，’answered the man。 ‘Who are you？’
‘Oh Frank，don't you know me？’cried the girl desperately。
‘I'm your—I'm Fanny Robin。 ’
‘Fanny！’gasped the man in surprise。 ‘How did you get here？’
‘I walked most of the way from Weatherbury。 But，Frank，are you glad to see me？ Frank，when will it be？’
‘What are you talking about？’
‘You know，you promised。 When shall we be married，Frank？’
‘Oh，I see。 Well—you need proper clothes—we must inform the vicar。 It takes time。 I didn't expect you to come so soon。 ’
‘Oh Frank，I love you so！And—you said you'd marry me—’
‘Don't cry now！It's foolish。 If I said so，of course I will。 I'll come and see you tomorrow to decide the details。 ’
‘Oh yes，Frank，do！I'm staying at Mrs Twill’s in North Street。 Come tomorrow，Frank！Goodnight，Frank！’
5
Bathsheba sends a valentine
When Bathsheba first appeared at the weekly Caster－ bridge market，where farmers bought and sold their wheat and animals，she caused a sensation。 Men's heads turned to look at her，the only woman there。 Like any woman，she was happy to be admired，but she was also deter… mined to sell her wheat at a good price，and to do business with the other farmers like a man。 There was one farmer， however，who did not seem to notice her，and this annoyed her a little。 It was Mr Boldwood。
One Sunday afternoon，on the thirteenth of February，Bathsheba and Liddy were in the sitting－room together。 It was a dull，cold day，and they were both very bored。
‘Have you ever tried to discover who you're going to marry，miss，’asked Liddy，‘with a Bible and a key？’
‘I don't believe in such foolish games，Liddy。 ’
‘Well，some people believe it works。 ’
‘All right，let's try it，’said Bathsheba suddenly，jumping up from her seat。 Together they opened the big family Bible and put a key on a page。
‘Now you think of someone you could marry，miss，’said Liddy，‘then read aloud the words on that page，and if the Bible moves，perhaps you'll marry him。 ’
Bathsheba read the words，holding the Bible。 As they watched，the Bible turned in her hands，and Bathsheba blushed。
‘Who were you thinking of？’asked Liddy curiously。
‘I'm not going to tell you，’answered her mistress。
‘By the way，did you notice Mr Boldwood in church this morning？’asked Liddy，making it very clear who she was thinking of。 ‘He didn't turn his head once to look at you！’
‘Why should he？’replied Bathsheba，annoyed。 ‘I didn't ask him to look at me。 ’
‘Oh no。 But everybody else in church was looking at you。 ’
Bathsheba did not reply to this。 After a few minutes she said，‘Oh，I nearly forgot the valentine card I bought yester－ day！’
‘A valentine！Who's it for，miss？Farmer Boldwood？’
‘No，of course not。 It's for one of the village children，that sweet little boy of Jan Coggan's。 I'll write the address on the envelope now，and we'll post it today。 ’
‘What fun it would be to send it to that silly old Bold－ wood！’laughed Liddy。
Bathsheba paused to consider。 It was certainly a little de－ pressing that the wealthiest and most important man in the area did not seem to admire her，as all the other men did。
‘We'll throw a coin to decide，’she said lightly。 ‘No，we shouldn't play with money on a Sunday。 I know，we'll throw this book。 If it comes down open，I'll send the valentine to Jan's son。 If it comes down shut，I'll send it to Boldwood。 ’ The little book went up in the air and came down shut。 Bathsheba immediately picked up her pen and wrote Bold…wood's address on the envelope。
‘Now we need a seal，’she said。 ‘Look for an interesting one，Liddy。 Ah，let's use this one。 I can't remember what it says，but I know it's funny。 ’When she had sealed the enve－lope，Bathsheba looked closely at the words left by the seal：
‘MARRY ME’。
‘Just right！’she cried。 ‘That would make even a vicar laugh！’And so the valentine was sent，not for love，but as a joke。 Bathsheba had no idea of the effect it would have。
It arrived at Mr Boldwood's house on the morning of St Valentine's Day，14th February He was puzzled，but strangely excited by it He had never received one before，and all day he thought about it。 Who could the woman be who admired him so much that she sent him a valentine？He kept on looking at it，until the words on the large red seal danced in front of his tired eyes，and he could no longer read them。 But he knew what they said：
‘MARRY ME’。
The valentine had destroyed the peaceful routine of Bold－wood's life。 That night he dreamed of the unknown woman，and when he woke up very early，the first thing he saw was the valentine，with its message in red，on the table by his bed。
‘Marry me，’he repeated to himself。 He was too restless to sleep any more so he went out for a walk。 He watched the sun rise over the snowy fields，and on his way home he met the postman，who handed him a letter。 Boldwood took it quickly and opened it，thinking it could be from the sender of the valentine。
‘I don't think it's for you，sir，’said the postman。 ‘I think it's for your shepherd。 ’
Boldwood looked at the address on the envelope：
To the new shepherd，
Weatherbury Farm，
Near Casterbridge。
‘Oh，what a mistake！It isn't mine，or my shepherd's。 It must be for Miss Everdene's shepherd。 His name is Gabriel Oak。 ’
At that moment he noticed a figure in a distant field。
‘Ah，there he is now，’Boldwood added。 ‘I'll take the let－ ter to him myself。 ’The shepherd started walking towards the malthouse，and Boldwood followed him，holding the letter。
6
Fanny's mistake
At the malthouse the men were discussing Bathsheba。 ‘How's she getting on without a farm manager？’the old maltster asked the younger men。
‘She can't manage the farm alone，’replied Jacob，‘and she won't listen to our advice。 Proud，she is。 I've often said it，’
‘You have，Jacob，you have，that's true，’agreed little Joseph Poorgrass。
‘But she's intelligent，’said Billy Smallbury，‘and must have some common sense。 ’
‘It seems her old uncle's furniture wasn't good enough for her，’said the maltster‘I hear she's bought new beds，chairs and a piano！If she's a farmer，why does she want a piano？ ’
Just then they heard a heavy footstep outside，and a voice called，‘Neighbours，can I bring a few lambs in there？’
‘Of course，shepherd，’they all replied。
Gabriel appeared in the doorway，his cheeks red and his healthy face shining。 On his shoulders were four half－dead lambs，which he put down carefully，close to the fire。
‘I haven't got a shepherd's hut here，as I used to have at Norcombe，’he explained。 ‘These new lambs would die if I couldn't keep them warm for a while。 It's very kind of you，maltster，to let me bring the