05-04-远离尘嚣 [30]
your spur quickly！’He bent down to pull rather lazily at his boots. ‘You are making it even worse，’she accused him angrily，‘to keep me here longer！’
‘Oh no，surely not，’smiled the soldier. ‘Don't be angry. I was doing it so that I could have the pleasure of apologizing to such a lovely woman. ’ Bathsheba had no idea what to say. She wondered whether to escape by pulling the material away，but did not want to tear her best dress.
‘I've seen many women in my life，’continued the young man，staring into her face，‘but I've never seen a woman as beautiful as you. I don't care if you're offended，that's the truth. ’
‘Who are you，then，if you don't care who you offend？’
‘People know me in Weatherbury. My name's Sergeant Troy. Ah，you see，your skirt's free now！I wish you and I had been tied together for ever！’
She pulled her dress quickly away from his spurs，and ran up the path and into her house. The next day she discovered from Liddy that Sergeant Troy's supposed father was a doctor，but people said his real father was a nobleman. He had been brought up in Weatherbury，and was well known as a young soldier with a great interest in girls. Bathsheba could not remain angry for long with someone who admired her as much as he obviously did. It was unfortunate that Boldwood，when courting her，had forgotten to tell her，even once，that she was beautiful.
Sergeant Troy was certainly an unusual man. He lived only in the present，caring nothing for the past or the future. Because he never expected anything，he was never disappoint－ed. To men he usually told the truth，but to women，never. He was intelligent and well－educated， and proud of his success with women.
A week or two after the sheep－shearing，Bathsheba was in the hayfields，where her workers were cutting the hay. She was surprised to see a bright red figure appear from behind a cart. Sergeant Troy had come to help on the farm. She blushed as the young soldier came to speak to her.
‘Miss Everdene！’he said. ‘I didn't realize it was the “Queen of Casterbridge market”I was speaking to the other night. I apologize for expressing my feelings so strongly to you 102 then. Of course，I'm not a stranger here. I often helped your uncle on the farm，and now I'm helping you. ’
‘I suppose I must thank you for that，’replied the Queen of Casterbridge market rather ungratefully.
‘You're cross because I was honest when I spoke to you that night. But I couldn't look at you，and say you aren't beautiful！’
‘You are pretending，Sergeant Troy！’said Bathsheba，laughing in spite of herself at his clever way of talking.
‘No，Miss Everdene，you must let me say how lovely you are！What's wrong with that？’
‘It's wrong because—it isn't true，’she said，hesitating.
‘But you know that everybody notices how beautiful you are，don't you？’
‘Well，no—that is，I've heard Liddy say they do，but…’She paused. She had never intended to become involved in this kind of conversation with the soldier，but somehow he had trapped her into replying. Thank you for helping the men with the hay， she continued. ‘But please don't speak to me again. ’
‘Oh Miss Bathsheba！That's too hard！I won't be here long. I'm going back to the army in a month. ’
‘But you don't really care about a word from me，do you？
‘I do，Miss Everdene. Perhaps you think it's foolish of me to want just a “good morning”，but you have never loved a beautiful woman like yourself，as I do. ’
‘But you only saw me the other night！I don't believe you could fall in love so fast. I won't listen to you any more. I wish I knew what time it was. I've spent too much time with you.
‘Haven't you got a watch，miss？I'll give you one，’and he handed her a heavy gold watch. ‘That watch belonged to a nobleman，my father，and is all the inheritance
‘Oh no，surely not，’smiled the soldier. ‘Don't be angry. I was doing it so that I could have the pleasure of apologizing to such a lovely woman. ’ Bathsheba had no idea what to say. She wondered whether to escape by pulling the material away，but did not want to tear her best dress.
‘I've seen many women in my life，’continued the young man，staring into her face，‘but I've never seen a woman as beautiful as you. I don't care if you're offended，that's the truth. ’
‘Who are you，then，if you don't care who you offend？’
‘People know me in Weatherbury. My name's Sergeant Troy. Ah，you see，your skirt's free now！I wish you and I had been tied together for ever！’
She pulled her dress quickly away from his spurs，and ran up the path and into her house. The next day she discovered from Liddy that Sergeant Troy's supposed father was a doctor，but people said his real father was a nobleman. He had been brought up in Weatherbury，and was well known as a young soldier with a great interest in girls. Bathsheba could not remain angry for long with someone who admired her as much as he obviously did. It was unfortunate that Boldwood，when courting her，had forgotten to tell her，even once，that she was beautiful.
Sergeant Troy was certainly an unusual man. He lived only in the present，caring nothing for the past or the future. Because he never expected anything，he was never disappoint－ed. To men he usually told the truth，but to women，never. He was intelligent and well－educated， and proud of his success with women.
A week or two after the sheep－shearing，Bathsheba was in the hayfields，where her workers were cutting the hay. She was surprised to see a bright red figure appear from behind a cart. Sergeant Troy had come to help on the farm. She blushed as the young soldier came to speak to her.
‘Miss Everdene！’he said. ‘I didn't realize it was the “Queen of Casterbridge market”I was speaking to the other night. I apologize for expressing my feelings so strongly to you 102 then. Of course，I'm not a stranger here. I often helped your uncle on the farm，and now I'm helping you. ’
‘I suppose I must thank you for that，’replied the Queen of Casterbridge market rather ungratefully.
‘You're cross because I was honest when I spoke to you that night. But I couldn't look at you，and say you aren't beautiful！’
‘You are pretending，Sergeant Troy！’said Bathsheba，laughing in spite of herself at his clever way of talking.
‘No，Miss Everdene，you must let me say how lovely you are！What's wrong with that？’
‘It's wrong because—it isn't true，’she said，hesitating.
‘But you know that everybody notices how beautiful you are，don't you？’
‘Well，no—that is，I've heard Liddy say they do，but…’She paused. She had never intended to become involved in this kind of conversation with the soldier，but somehow he had trapped her into replying. Thank you for helping the men with the hay， she continued. ‘But please don't speak to me again. ’
‘Oh Miss Bathsheba！That's too hard！I won't be here long. I'm going back to the army in a month. ’
‘But you don't really care about a word from me，do you？
‘I do，Miss Everdene. Perhaps you think it's foolish of me to want just a “good morning”，but you have never loved a beautiful woman like yourself，as I do. ’
‘But you only saw me the other night！I don't believe you could fall in love so fast. I won't listen to you any more. I wish I knew what time it was. I've spent too much time with you.
‘Haven't you got a watch，miss？I'll give you one，’and he handed her a heavy gold watch. ‘That watch belonged to a nobleman，my father，and is all the inheritance