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dn't keep them warm for a while。 It's very kind of you，maltster，to let me bring them in here。 ’
‘We've been talking of the mistress，and her strange behaviour，shepherd，’said the maltster。
‘What have you been saying about her？’asked Gabriel sharply，turning to the others。 ‘I suppose you've been speak… ing against her？’he added angrily to Joseph Poorgrass。
‘No，no，not a word，’said Joseph，trembling and blushing with terror。
‘well，look here，neighbours。 ’Gabriel，although normally one of the quietest and most gentle men on earth，had sudden－ly become aggressive。 ‘The first man I hear saying anything bad about our mistress will receive this in his face，’and he banged his great heavy hand down on the maltster's table。
‘Now don't get so angry，shepherd，and sit down！’said Jacob。
‘We hear you're a very clever man，shepherd，’added Joseph Poorgrass from behind the maltster's bed，where he had been hiding。 ‘We all wish we were as clever as you，don't we，neighbours？’There was general agreement。
‘I think mistress ought to have made you her farm manager，you're so suitable for the job，’continued Joseph。 He could see that Gabriel was no longer angry。
‘I don't mind confessing I was hoping to be her farm man－ ager，’said Gabriel in his honest way。 ‘But Miss Everdene can do as she likes，and she's chosen to manage her own farm—and keep me as an ordinary shepherd only。 ’He sounded rather depressed，and looked sadly into the fire。
Before anyone could reply，the door opened and Mr Bold－ wood came in。 He greeted them all and handed the letter to Gabriel。
‘I opened this by mistake，Oak，’he said，‘but it must be for you。 I'm sorry。 ’
‘Oh，it doesn't matter at all，’answered Gabriel，who had no secrets from anyone。 He read this letter：
Dear friend，
I don't know your name，but I want to thank you for your kindness to me on the night I left Weatherbury。 I'm also returning the money you gave me。 I'm happy to say I'm going to marry the young man who has been courting me， Sergeant Troy。 As he is a nobleman's son，I know he wouldn't like me to accept a gift from anyone。 Please don't tell anyone about my marriage。 We intend to surprise Weatherbury by arriuing there as husband and wife，very soon。 Thank you again。
Fanny Robin。
‘You'd better read it，Mr Boldwood，’said Gabriel。 ‘It's from Fanny Robin。 She wants to keep this a secret but I know you're interested in her。 I met her on my way to Weather… bury，but I didn't know then who she was。 ’ When Mr Boldwood had finished reading the letter，he looked very serious。 ‘Poor Fanny！’he said。 ‘I don't think this Sergeant Troy will ever marry her。 He's clever，and handsome，but he can't be trusted。 What a silly girl Fanny is！’
‘I'm very sorry to hear that，’said Gabriel。
‘By the way，Oak，’said Mr Boldwood quietly，as he and the shepherd left the malthouse together，‘could you tell me whose writing this is？’He showed Gabriel the envelope containing the valentine。
Gabriel looked at it，and said simply，‘Miss Everdene’s。 ’Then he realized that Bathsheba must have written to Mr Boldwood without signing her name，and he looked，puzzled， at the farmer。
Mr Boldwood replied rather too quickly to Gabriel's unspo－ ken question。 ‘It's quite normal to try to discover who has written the——valentine。 That's the——fun of it。 ’There was no fun at all in his manner。 ‘Goodbye，Oak，’he added，and walked slowly back to his empty house。
A few days later，in the town north of Weatherbury where the soldiers were staying，a wedding was arranged As the church clock in the square struck half…past eleven，a handsome young soldier marched into the church and spoke to the vicar Then he stood still in the centre of the church，waiting for his bride。 The church was full of the women and girls who had at－ tended the morning service and had decided to wait to see the wedding。 They watched the young man's straight back，whis－ pering among themselves。 The soldier waited without moving a muscle。 The church clock struck a quarter to twelve，and still the bride did not come。 The whispers stopped，and there was silence。 The young man stood as stiff and straight as the church columns around him。 There was a little quiet laughter from some of the women，but soon they were silent again，waiting for the end。
As the church clock struck twelve，they listened to the heavy notes ringing out from the church tower。 The vicar left his position near the soldier，and disappeared into a back room。 Every woman in the church was waiting to see the young man's face，and he knew it。 At last he turned，and marched bravely back the way he had come，through the rows of smiling women。
When he got outside and crossed the square，he met a girl hurrying towards the church。 When she saw him，the anxiety on her face changed to terror。
‘Well’？’he said，staring coldly at her。
‘Oh Frank，I made a mistake！I thought it was the other church，he one near the market，and I waited there till a quarter to twelve，and then I realized my mistake。 But it doesn't matter，because we can just as easily get married tomorrow。 ’
‘You're a fool，to play games with me！’he replied angrily。
‘So shall we get married tomorrow，Frank？’she asked，not understanding how seriously she had offended him。 ‘Tomorrow！’he repeated，and laughed。 ‘I don't want another experience like that for a while，I can promise you！’
‘But Frank，’she begged in a trembling voice，‘it wasn't such a terrible mistake！Now，dear Frank，when will our wedding be？’
‘Ah，when？God knows！’he said，and turning away from her，walked rapidly away。
7
Farmer Boldwood proposes marriage
On Saturday at Casterbridge market Boldwood saw the woman who was disturbing his dreams。 For the first time he turned his head and looked at her。 It was in fact the first time in his life that he had looked at any woman。 Up to now he had considered women to be distant，almost foreign creatures who had nothing to do with him。 Now he saw Bathsheba's hair，and every detail of her face。 He noticed her figure，her dress，and even her feet。 She seemed very beauti…ful to him，and his heart began to move within him。 ‘And this woman，this lovely young woman，has asked me to marry her！’he thought。 As he was watching Bathsheba selling wheat to another farmer，he was filled with jealousy。
All this time Bathsheba was aware of his eyes on her。 At last she had made him look at her！But she would have pre－ferred him to admire her from the beginning，without the en… couragement of her valentine。 She felt sorry she had disturbed the usual calmness of a man she respected，but considered she could not apologize to him without either offending or encour…aging him。
Mr Boldwood did not try to speak to her，and returned home to his farm。 He was a man of strong feelings，which normally lay hidden deep inside him。 Because he was serious，and did not joke with his neighbours，people thought he was cold But when he loved or hated，it was with his whole heart。 If Bathsheba had known how strong the feelings of this dark and silent figure were，she would have blamed herself terribly for her thoughtlessness。 But nobody guessed what lay behind his calm appearance。
A few days later Mr Boldwood was looking at Bathsheba's fields，which were next to his own，when he saw her helping Gabriel Oak with the sheep。 To Boldwood，Bathsheba shone like the moon on a dark night。 His heart，which had never been touched before，was filled completely with his love for her。 He decided to go and speak to her。
As he stopped at the gate of the field，Bathsheba looked up and noticed him。 Gabriel was watching her face and saw her blush。 He immediately thought of the envelope，with the valentine，that Boldwood had shown him，and suspected Bathsheba of encouraging the farmer to fall in love with her。
Boldwood realized they had noticed him，and suddenly felt unsure of himself。 He did not know enough about women to discover from Bathsheba's manner whether she wanted to see him or not。 And so he did not enter the field，but walked on， past the gate。
Bathsheba，however，knew that he had come to see her， and felt extremely guilty。 She promised herself never again to disturb the peace of this man's life。 Unfortunately her promise was made too late，as such promises often are。
It was not until the end of May that Boldwood was brave enough to declare his love。 He went to Bathsheba's house，where the maids told him their mistress was watching the sheep－washing。 Every spring the sheep were washed in a spe－ cial pool，to keep their wool clean and to get rid of insects on their skin。 Boldwood walked across the fields to the pool， where he found the farm workers busily washing the sheep。
Bathsheba was standing near them，and saw Boldwood com… ing towards her。 She moved away，walking beside the river， but she could hear footsteps behind her in the grass，and felt love all around her，like perfume in the air Boldwood caught up with her。
‘Miss Everdene！’he said quietly。
She trembled，turned，and said，‘Good morning。 ’She had guessed the truth from the way he spoke those two word