05-04-远离尘嚣 [59]
Bathsheba talking to a man. Was she forgetting her husband so soon？thought Troy angrily. He decided to listen to their conversation，and knelt down outside the tent，making a little hole with his knife in the heavy cotton so that he could see the two people inside.
She was drinking a cup of tea，which Boldwood had just brought her. Troy watched her every movement. She was as handsome as ever，and she belonged to him. After a few moments Troy got up and walked slowly from the tent. He was considering what to do next.
Meanwhile Boldwood had offered to ride back to Weather-bury with Bathsheba，as it was getting late，and she accepted. Her pity for the man she had hurt so deeply made her behave more kindly towards him than was perhaps sensible. Her kind-ness made poor Boldwood dream of their future marriage，and suddenly，unable to stop himself，he said，‘Mrs Troy，will you marry again some day？’
‘You forget that my husband's death has never been proved，so I may not really be a widow，’she said，confused. ‘I've a feeling he's alive，and I'm not thinking of marrying anyone else. ’
‘Do you know，Bathsheba，that according to the lawyers，you can remarry seven years after your husband's supposed death，that is，six years from now？Could you—promise to marry me then？’
‘I don't know. Six years is too far away. I'm bitterly sorry I behaved so stupidly towards you，but—I can promise I'll never marry another man while you want me to be your wife，but—’
‘You could put right the mistake you made by promising to be my wife in six years’time！’There was wild hope in his eyes.
‘Oh，what shall I do？I don't love you，but if I can give you happiness by just promising，then I will—consider—and promise—soon. Shall we say，by Christmas？’
‘You'll promise at Christmas. Well，I'll say no more. ’
As Christmas came nearer，Bathsheba became more anxious，and one day she confessed her difficulty to Gabriel.
‘The saddest reason of all for agreeing to his proposal，’she said，‘is that if I don't，I'm afraid he'll go mad. His feelings are so extreme. I don't say that because I'm vain，but I believe I hold that man's future in my hands. Oh Gabriel，it's a terrible worry！’
‘Then why don't you promise，ma'am？I don't think people would think it wrong. The only thing that makes it wrong in my view is that you don't love him. ’
‘That is my punishment，Gabriel，for playing that foolish trick with the valentine on him. ’Gabriel had given her a reasonable，sensible answer，as she knew he would，but she felt annoyed with his cool advice. Not once had he spoken of his love for her，or said that he could wait for her too. She would have refused him of course，but at least it would have shown that he still admired her.
■ 17 农场主伯德伍德开始盼望
托伊出而不归，芭丝谢芭既不觉得高兴，也不感到伤心，她对将来没有什么期望。她确信他总有一天要回来，接着花她的钱。到了那时，他们只得把农场卖掉，她无法避免此事发生。
一个星期六，她正在卡斯特桥市场，一个陌生人向她走来。“我得告诉你，太太，”他说，“你丈夫死了。”
“没有，不可能！”芭丝谢芭气吁吁地说。她眼前一黑，向前倒下，但没有倒在地上。原来伯德伍德一直站在一个拐角看着她，此时跑上前来扶住了她。
“还有什么消息告诉我。”他对那陌生人说，一边用双手把失去知觉的姑娘轻轻揽住。
“警察在海滩上发现了她丈夫的衣服，他准是在巴德茅斯岸边游泳时淹死了。”
伯德伍德脸上出现一丝不可思议的激动，但他什么也没有说。他把她抱到旅店的一间僻静房间，让她在那里休息，直至她能够骑马回家。
她到家时，仍觉得虚弱与惶惑，利蒂已经听说了。“咱们给你定做
She was drinking a cup of tea，which Boldwood had just brought her. Troy watched her every movement. She was as handsome as ever，and she belonged to him. After a few moments Troy got up and walked slowly from the tent. He was considering what to do next.
Meanwhile Boldwood had offered to ride back to Weather-bury with Bathsheba，as it was getting late，and she accepted. Her pity for the man she had hurt so deeply made her behave more kindly towards him than was perhaps sensible. Her kind-ness made poor Boldwood dream of their future marriage，and suddenly，unable to stop himself，he said，‘Mrs Troy，will you marry again some day？’
‘You forget that my husband's death has never been proved，so I may not really be a widow，’she said，confused. ‘I've a feeling he's alive，and I'm not thinking of marrying anyone else. ’
‘Do you know，Bathsheba，that according to the lawyers，you can remarry seven years after your husband's supposed death，that is，six years from now？Could you—promise to marry me then？’
‘I don't know. Six years is too far away. I'm bitterly sorry I behaved so stupidly towards you，but—I can promise I'll never marry another man while you want me to be your wife，but—’
‘You could put right the mistake you made by promising to be my wife in six years’time！’There was wild hope in his eyes.
‘Oh，what shall I do？I don't love you，but if I can give you happiness by just promising，then I will—consider—and promise—soon. Shall we say，by Christmas？’
‘You'll promise at Christmas. Well，I'll say no more. ’
As Christmas came nearer，Bathsheba became more anxious，and one day she confessed her difficulty to Gabriel.
‘The saddest reason of all for agreeing to his proposal，’she said，‘is that if I don't，I'm afraid he'll go mad. His feelings are so extreme. I don't say that because I'm vain，but I believe I hold that man's future in my hands. Oh Gabriel，it's a terrible worry！’
‘Then why don't you promise，ma'am？I don't think people would think it wrong. The only thing that makes it wrong in my view is that you don't love him. ’
‘That is my punishment，Gabriel，for playing that foolish trick with the valentine on him. ’Gabriel had given her a reasonable，sensible answer，as she knew he would，but she felt annoyed with his cool advice. Not once had he spoken of his love for her，or said that he could wait for her too. She would have refused him of course，but at least it would have shown that he still admired her.
■ 17 农场主伯德伍德开始盼望
托伊出而不归，芭丝谢芭既不觉得高兴，也不感到伤心，她对将来没有什么期望。她确信他总有一天要回来，接着花她的钱。到了那时，他们只得把农场卖掉，她无法避免此事发生。
一个星期六，她正在卡斯特桥市场，一个陌生人向她走来。“我得告诉你，太太，”他说，“你丈夫死了。”
“没有，不可能！”芭丝谢芭气吁吁地说。她眼前一黑，向前倒下，但没有倒在地上。原来伯德伍德一直站在一个拐角看着她，此时跑上前来扶住了她。
“还有什么消息告诉我。”他对那陌生人说，一边用双手把失去知觉的姑娘轻轻揽住。
“警察在海滩上发现了她丈夫的衣服，他准是在巴德茅斯岸边游泳时淹死了。”
伯德伍德脸上出现一丝不可思议的激动，但他什么也没有说。他把她抱到旅店的一间僻静房间，让她在那里休息，直至她能够骑马回家。
她到家时，仍觉得虚弱与惶惑，利蒂已经听说了。“咱们给你定做