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‘Don't be so cruel，Liddy！Say you don't believe he's had！’
‘I don't know what to say，miss，’said Liddy，beginning to cry。 ‘I'll make you angry whatever I say！’
‘Oh，how weak I am！How I wish I'd never seen him！You see how much I love him，Liddy！Don't tell anyone my secret，Liddy！’
‘I'll keep your secret，miss，’said Liddy gently。
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。
12
Bathsheba makes her choice
On the same day that Bathsheba arrived home， Mr Boldwood went to apologize to her for speaking so violently the last time he had seen her。 He knew nothing of her trip to Bath，and supposed she had only been to visit Liddy。 But at her door he was told he could not see her，and he realized she had not forgiven him。
On his way home through Weatherbury he saw the coach from Bath。 It stopped at the usual place，and a soldier in a red and gold uniform jumped down。 Sergeant Troy picked up his bag and was about to take the road to Bathsheba's house，when Boldwood stepped forward。
‘Sergeant Troy？I am William Boldwood。 ’
‘Indeed？’said Troy，showing little interest。
‘I want to speak to you—about two women。 ’
Troy saw the heavy stick Boldwood was holding，and real－ized how determined he was。 He decided it was worth being polite。
‘I'll listen with pleasure，but do speak quietly。 ’
‘Well then，I've heard about your relationship with Fanny Robin，and I think you ought to marry her。 ’
‘I suppose I ought。 Indeed，I want to，but I cannot。 ’
‘Why can't you？’
Troy was going to reply immediately，but he stopped him－self。 ‘I am too poor，’he said，looking quickly at Boldwood to see if the farmer believed him。 Boldwood did not notice the look。
‘I don't want to talk about right or wrong，I just want to discuss business with you。 I was engaged to Miss Everdene，when you came and—’
‘Not engaged，’said Troy。
‘More or less engaged，’insisted Boldwood。 ‘If you hadn't come，she would certainly have accepted my proposal by now。 Well，her position in society is so much higher than yours that you can't hope to marry her。 So all I ask is that you don't bother her any more，and marry Fanny。 ’
‘Why should I？’asked Troy carelessly。
‘I'll pay you。 If you leave Weatherbury today，I'll give you fifty pounds Fanny will have fifty pounds for wedding clothes，and I'll give her five hundred pounds the day she marries you。 ’Boldwood's manner showed that he was a little ashamed of offering money，but he was prepared to do almost anything to prevent Troy marrying Bathsheba。
Troy appeared to consider the offer。 ‘It's true I like Fanny best，although she's only a maid。 Fifty pounds now，you said？’
‘Here's the money，’said Boldwood，handing the soldier a purse of gold coins。
‘Stop，listen！’said Troy in a whisper。 Light footsteps could be heard on the road，coming from Bathsheba's house。
‘It's Bathsheba！She's expecting me。 I must go and speak to 132 her，and say goodbye to her，as you and I have arranged。 ’
‘Why do you need to speak to her？’
‘She'll look for me if I don't。 Don't worry，you'll hear every word I say to her。 It may help you in your courting，when I've gone！Stand over there behind the tree，and listen。 ’
Troy stepped forward and whistled a double note。
‘Frank，darling，is that you？’It was Bathsheba's voice。
‘Oh God！’said Boldwood，unheard behind the tree。
‘Yes，it's me，’replied Troy。
‘You'rs so late，Frank，’s