第27章
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  ’Yes;solelybecauseyoumarriedhimonthedayIwasfreetoaskyoutomarryme。Mywifediedfour-and-twentyhoursbeforeyouwenttochurchwithDowne。Thefixingofmyjourneyatthatparticularmomentwasbecauseofherfuneral;butonceawayIknewIshouldhavenoinducementtocomeback,andtookmystepsaccordingly。’

  Herfaceassumedanaspectofgentlereflection,andshelookedupanddownhisformwithgreatinterestinhereyes。’Ineverthoughtofit!’shesaid。’Iknew,ofcourse,thatyouhadonceimpliedsomewarmthoffeelingtowardsme,butIconcludedthatitpassedoff。AndIhavealwaysbeenundertheimpressionthatyourwifewasaliveatthetimeofmymarriage。Wasitnotstupidofme!——Butyouwillhavesometeaorsomething?Ihaveneverdinedlate,youknow,sincemyhusband’sdeath。Ihavegotintothewayofmakingaregularmealoftea。Youwillhavesometeawithme,willyounot?’

  Thetravelledmanassentedquitereadily,andteawasbroughtin。

  Theysatandchattedoverthemeal,regardlessoftheflyinghour。

  ’Well,well!’saidBarnetpresently,asforthefirsttimeheleisurelysurveyedtheroom;’howlikeitallis,andyethowdifferent!Justwhereyourpianostandswasaboardonacoupleoftrestles,bearingthepatternsofwall-papers,whenIwaslasthere。

  Iwaschoosingthem——standinginthisway,asitmightbe。Thenmyservantcameinatthedoor,andhandedmeanote,so。ItwasfromDowne,andannouncedthatyouwerejustgoingtobemarriedtohim。

  Ichosenomorewall-papers——toreupallthoseIhadselected,andleftthehouse。Ineverentereditagaintillnow。’

  ’Ah,atlastIunderstanditall,’shemurmured。

  Theyhadbothrisenandgonetothefireplace。Themantelcamealmostonalevelwithhershoulder,whichgentlyrestedagainstit,andBarnetlaidhishandupontheshelfclosebesidehershoulder。

  ’Lucy,’hesaid,’betterlatethannever。Willyoumarrymenow?’

  Shestartedback,andthesurprisewhichwassoobviousinherwroughtevengreatersurpriseinhimthatitshouldbeso。Itwasdifficulttobelievethatshehadbeenquiteblindtothesituation,andyetallreasonandcommonsensewenttoprovethatshewasnotacting。

  ’Youtakemequiteunawaresbysuchaquestion!’shesaid,withaforcedlaughofuneasiness。Itwasthefirsttimeshehadshownanyembarrassmentatall。’Why,’sheadded,’Icouldn’tmarryyoufortheworld。’

  ’Notafterallthis!Whynot?’

  ’Itis——Iwould——IreallythinkImaysayit——Iwoulduponthewholerathermarryyou,Mr。Barnet,thananyothermanIhaveevermet,ifIeverdreamedofmarriageagain。ButIdon’tdreamofit——itisquiteoutofmythoughts;Ihavenottheleastintentionofmarryingagain。’

  ’But——onmyaccount——couldn’tyoualteryourplansalittle?Come!’

  ’DearMr。Barnet,’shesaidwithalittleflutter,’Iwouldonyouraccountifonanybody’sinexistence。Butyoudon’tknowintheleastwhatitisyouareasking——suchanimpracticablething——I

  won’tsayridiculous,ofcourse,becauseIseethatyouarereallyinearnest,andearnestnessisneverridiculoustomymind。’

  ’Well,yes,’saidBarnetmoreslowly,droppingherhand,whichhehadtakenatthemomentofpleading,’Iaminearnest。Theresolve,twomonthsago,attheCape,tocomebackoncemorewas,itistrue,rathersudden,andasIseenow,notwellconsidered。ButIaminearnestinasking。’

  ’AndIindeclining。Withallgoodfeelingandallkindness,letmesaythatIamquiteopposedtotheideaofmarryingasecondtime。’

  ’Well,noharmhasbeendone,’heanswered,withthesamesubduedandtenderhumorousnessthathehadshownonsuchoccasionsinearlylife。’Ifyoureallywon’tacceptme,Imustputupwithit,I

  suppose。’Hiseyefellontheclockashespoke。’Hadyouanynotionthatitwassolate?’heasked。’HowabsorbedIhavebeen!’

  Sheaccompaniedhimtothehall,helpedhimtoputonhisovercoat,andlethimoutofthehouseherself。

  ’Good-night,’saidBarnet,onthedoorstep,asthelampshoneinhisface。’Youarenotoffendedwithme?’

  ’Certainlynot。Noryouwithme?’

  ’I’llconsiderwhetherIamornot,’hepleasantlyreplied。’Good-

  night。’

  Shewatchedhimsafelythroughthegate;andwhenhisfootstepshaddiedawayupontheroad,closedthedoorsoftlyandreturnedtotheroom。Herethemodestwidowlongponderedhisspeeches,witheyesdroppedtoanunusuallylowlevel。Barnet’surbanityundertheblowofherrefusalgreatlyimpressedher。Afterhavinghislongperiodofprobationrendereduselessbyherdecision,hehadshownnoanger,andhadphilosophicallytakenherwordsasifhedeservednobetterones。Itwasverygentlemanlyofhim,certainly;itwasmorethangentlemanly;itwasheroicandgrand。Themoreshemeditated,themoreshequestionedthevirtueofherconductincheckinghimsoperemptorily;andwenttoherbedroominamoodofdissatisfaction。

  Onlookingintheglassshewasremindedthattherewasnotsomuchremainingofherformerbeautyastomakehisfrankdeclarationanimpulsivenaturalhomagetohercheeksandeyes;itmustundoubtedlyhavearisenfromanoldstaunchfeelingofhis,deservingtenderestconsideration。SherecalledtohermindwithmuchpleasurethathehadtoldherhewasstayingattheBlack-BullHotel;sothatif,afterwaitingadayortwo,heshouldnot,inhismodesty,callagain,shemightthensendhimanicelittlenote。Toalterherviewsforthepresentwasfarfromherintention;butshewouldallowherselftobeinducedtoreconsiderthecase,asanygenerouswomanoughttodo。

  Themorrowcameandpassed,andMr。Barnetdidnotdropin。Ateveryknock,lightyouthfulhuesflewacrosshercheek;andshewasabstractedinthepresenceofherothervisitors。Intheeveningshewalkedaboutthehouse,notknowingwhattodowithherself;theconditionsofexistenceseemedtotallydifferentfromthosewhichruledonlyfour-and-twentyshorthoursago。Whathadbeenatfirstatantalizingelusivesentimentwasgettingacclimatizedwithinherasadefinitehope,andherpersonwassoinformedbythatemotionthatshemightalmosthavestoodasitsemblematicalrepresentativebythetimetheclockstruckten。Inshort,aninterestinBarnetpreciselyresemblingthatofherearlyyouthledherpresenthearttobelieheryesterday’swordstohim,andshelongedtoseehimagain。

  Thenextdayshewalkedoutearly,thinkingshemightmeethiminthestreet。Thegrowingbeautyofherromanceabsorbedher,andshewentfromthestreettothefields,andfromthefieldstotheshore,withoutanyconsciousnessofdistance,tillremindedbyherwearinessthatshecouldgonofurther。Hehadnowhereappeared。

  Intheeveningshetookastepwhichunderthecircumstancesseemedjustifiable;shewroteanotetohimatthehotel,invitinghimtoteawithheratsixprecisely,andsigninghernote’Lucy。’

  Inaquarterofanhourthemessengercameback。Mr。Barnethadleftthehotelearlyinthemorningofthedaybefore,buthehadstatedthathewouldprobablyreturninthecourseoftheweek。

  Thenotewassentback,tobegiventohimimmediatelyonhisarrival。

  Therewasnosignfromtheinnthatthisdesiredeventhadoccurred,eitheronthenextdayorthedayfollowing。Onbothnightsshehadbeenrestless,andhadscarcelyslepthalf-an-hour。

  OntheSaturday,puttingoffalldiffidence,LucywentherselftotheBlack-Bull,andquestionedthestaffclosely。

  Mr。BarnethadcursorilyremarkedwhenleavingthathemightreturnontheThursdayorFriday,buttheyweredirectednottoreservearoomforhimunlessheshouldwrite。

  Hehadleftnoaddress。

  Lucysorrowfullytookbackhernotewenthome,andresolvedtowait。

  Shedidwait——yearsandyears——butBarnetneverreappeared。

  ThenorthroadfromCasterbridgeistediousandlonely,especiallyinwinter-time。AlongapartofitscourseitconnectswithLong-

  AshLane,amonotonoustrackwithoutavillageorhamletformanymiles,andwithveryseldomaturning。Unapprizedwayfarerswhoaretooold,ortooyoung,orinotherrespectstooweakforthedistancetobetraversed,butwho,nevertheless,havetowalkit,say,astheylookwistfullyahead,’Onceatthetopofthathill,andImustsurelyseetheendofLong-AshLane!’Buttheyreachthehilltop,andLong-AshLanestretchesinfrontasmercilesslyasbefore。

  Somefewyearsagoacertainfarmerwasridingthroughthislaneinthegloomofawinterevening。Thefarmer’sfriend,adairyman,wasridingbesidehim。Afewpacesintherearrodethefarmer’sman。

  Allthreewerewellhorsedonstrong,round-barrelledcobs;andtobewellhorsedwastobeinbetterspiritsaboutLong-AshLanethanpoorpedestrianscouldattaintoduringitspassage。

  Butthefarmerdidnottalkmuchtohisfriendasherodealong。

  Theenterprisewhichhadbroughthimtherefilledhismind;forintruthitwasimportant。Notaltogethersoimportantwasit,perhaps,whenestimatedbyitsvaluetosocietyatlarge;butifthetruemeasureofadeedbeproportionatetothespaceitoccupiesintheheartofhimwhoundertakesit,FarmerCharlesDarton’sbusinessto-nightcouldholditsownwiththebusinessofkings。

  Hewasalargefarmer。Histurnover,asitiscalled,wasprobablythirtythousandpoundsayear。Hehadagreatmanydraughthorses,agreatmanymilchcows,andofsheepamultitude。Thiscomfortablepositionwas,however,noneofhisownmaking。Ithadbeencreatedbyhisfather,amanofaverydifferentstampfromthepresentrepresentativeoftheline。

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