05-04-远离尘嚣 [34]
Stand still！’
Not daring to tremble，she saw the point of his sword coming towards her heart，and，sure that this time she would die，closed her eyes. But when she opened them，she saw the insect，dead，on the point of the sword.
‘It's magic！’she cried. ‘And how could you cut off one of my curls with a sword that isn't sharp？’
‘It's sharper than any knife，’he said. ‘I had to lie to you about that，to give you the confidence to stand still. ’
Bathsheba's feelings were almost too much for her to control，and she sat down suddenly in the grass.
‘I could have died，’she whispered.
‘You were perfectly safe，’Troy told her. ‘My sword never makes a mistake. I must leave you now. I'll keep this to re－mind me of you. ’He bent to pick up the curl of hair，which he put carefully in his pocket，next to his heart. She was not strong enough to say or do anything. He came closer，bent 112 again，and a minute later his red coat disappeared through the grass. Bathsheba blushed guiltily and tears rolled down her face. In that minute Troy had kissed her on the lips.
Determined，independent women often show their weakness when they fall in love，and Bathsheba had very little experi-ence of the world，or of men. It was as difficult for her to see Troy's bad qualities，which he kept carefully hidden，as to ad-mire Gabriel Oak's good ones，which were not all obvious at first sight.
One evening a few days later，Gabriel went to find his mis-tress. He knew that she was falling in love，and had decided to warn her of the mistake she was making. He found her walking along a path through the fields.
‘I was worried about your walking alone，miss，’he said.
‘It's rather late，and there are some bad men in the area. ’He was hoping to introduce Troy's name as one of the ‘bad men’.
‘I never meet any，’said Bathsheba lightly.
Gabriel tried again. ‘Farmer Boldwood will be taking care of you in future，of course. ’
‘What do you mean，Gabriel？’
‘Well，when you and he are married，miss，as everybody expects. You've let him court you，after all. ’
‘Everybody is wrong，Gabriel. I didn't promise him any－thing. I respect him，but I won't marry him. ’
‘I wish you had never met that young Sergeant Troy，114 miss，’be said sadly. ‘He's not good enough for you. ’
‘How dare you say that！He's of good family，and well－educated！’replied Bathsheba angrily.
‘He can't be trusted，miss. Don't trust him，I beg you. ’
‘He's as good as anybody in the village！He goes to church regularly！He told me so himself. ’
‘I'm afraid nobody has ever seen him in church. I certainly haven't. ’Cabriel's heart ached when he saw how completely Bathsheba trusted the soldier.
‘That's because he enters by the old tower door and sits at the back，where he can't be seen，’she replied eagerly.
‘You know，mistress，’said Gabriel in a deep voice full of sadness，‘that I love you and shall love you for ever. I accept that I can't marry you now that I'm poor. But Bathsheba，dear mistress，think of your position！Be careful of your behaviour towards this soldier Mr Boldwood is sixteen years older than you. Consider how well he would lood after you！’
‘Leave my farm，Cabriel，’said Bathsheba，her face white with anger. ‘You can't speak like that to me，your mistress！’
‘Don't be foolish！You've already sent me away once. How would you manage without me？No，although I'd like to have my own farm，I'll stay with you，and you know why. ’
‘Well，I suppose you can stay if you wish. Will you leave me here now please？I ask not as your mistress，but as a woman.
‘Of course，Miss Everdene，’said Gabriel gently. He was a little surprised by her request，as it was getting dark，and they were on a lonely hill some way from her house. As
Not daring to tremble，she saw the point of his sword coming towards her heart，and，sure that this time she would die，closed her eyes. But when she opened them，she saw the insect，dead，on the point of the sword.
‘It's magic！’she cried. ‘And how could you cut off one of my curls with a sword that isn't sharp？’
‘It's sharper than any knife，’he said. ‘I had to lie to you about that，to give you the confidence to stand still. ’
Bathsheba's feelings were almost too much for her to control，and she sat down suddenly in the grass.
‘I could have died，’she whispered.
‘You were perfectly safe，’Troy told her. ‘My sword never makes a mistake. I must leave you now. I'll keep this to re－mind me of you. ’He bent to pick up the curl of hair，which he put carefully in his pocket，next to his heart. She was not strong enough to say or do anything. He came closer，bent 112 again，and a minute later his red coat disappeared through the grass. Bathsheba blushed guiltily and tears rolled down her face. In that minute Troy had kissed her on the lips.
Determined，independent women often show their weakness when they fall in love，and Bathsheba had very little experi-ence of the world，or of men. It was as difficult for her to see Troy's bad qualities，which he kept carefully hidden，as to ad-mire Gabriel Oak's good ones，which were not all obvious at first sight.
One evening a few days later，Gabriel went to find his mis-tress. He knew that she was falling in love，and had decided to warn her of the mistake she was making. He found her walking along a path through the fields.
‘I was worried about your walking alone，miss，’he said.
‘It's rather late，and there are some bad men in the area. ’He was hoping to introduce Troy's name as one of the ‘bad men’.
‘I never meet any，’said Bathsheba lightly.
Gabriel tried again. ‘Farmer Boldwood will be taking care of you in future，of course. ’
‘What do you mean，Gabriel？’
‘Well，when you and he are married，miss，as everybody expects. You've let him court you，after all. ’
‘Everybody is wrong，Gabriel. I didn't promise him any－thing. I respect him，but I won't marry him. ’
‘I wish you had never met that young Sergeant Troy，114 miss，’be said sadly. ‘He's not good enough for you. ’
‘How dare you say that！He's of good family，and well－educated！’replied Bathsheba angrily.
‘He can't be trusted，miss. Don't trust him，I beg you. ’
‘He's as good as anybody in the village！He goes to church regularly！He told me so himself. ’
‘I'm afraid nobody has ever seen him in church. I certainly haven't. ’Cabriel's heart ached when he saw how completely Bathsheba trusted the soldier.
‘That's because he enters by the old tower door and sits at the back，where he can't be seen，’she replied eagerly.
‘You know，mistress，’said Gabriel in a deep voice full of sadness，‘that I love you and shall love you for ever. I accept that I can't marry you now that I'm poor. But Bathsheba，dear mistress，think of your position！Be careful of your behaviour towards this soldier Mr Boldwood is sixteen years older than you. Consider how well he would lood after you！’
‘Leave my farm，Cabriel，’said Bathsheba，her face white with anger. ‘You can't speak like that to me，your mistress！’
‘Don't be foolish！You've already sent me away once. How would you manage without me？No，although I'd like to have my own farm，I'll stay with you，and you know why. ’
‘Well，I suppose you can stay if you wish. Will you leave me here now please？I ask not as your mistress，but as a woman.
‘Of course，Miss Everdene，’said Gabriel gently. He was a little surprised by her request，as it was getting dark，and they were on a lonely hill some way from her house. As