06-04-苔丝 [46]
， and he was so like a god in her eyes． He treated her as if he would love and defend her under any circumstances． This began to make her feel less afraid about agreeing to marry him， and telling him the truth about herself．
The days were shorter now， and in the mornings the dairy worked by candlelight．One morning between three and four she ran up to Clare's room to wake him， before waking the others． Having dressed， she was about to go downstairs when Angel came out of his room and stopped her．
‘Now， miss，’he said firmly．‘You must give me an answer or I shall have to leave the house． You aren't safe with me． I saw you just now in your nightdress． Well？ Is it yes at last？’
‘I really will think seriously about it，Mr Clare．’
‘Call me Angel then， and not Mr Clare． Why not Angel dearest？’
‘It would mean I agree， wouldn't it？’
‘It would only mean you love me， and you did admit that long ago．’
‘Very well then， Angel dearest，if I must，’she murmured，smiling． Clare could not resist kissing her warm cheek．
After milking and skimming， all the dairy people went outside． Tess generously tried for the last time to interest Angel in the other dairymaids．
‘There's more in those three than you think， she said．
‘Any of them would make you a better wife than I could． And perhaps they love you as much as I do—almost．’
‘Oh Tessy！’ he cried impatiently． She was so relieved to hear this that she could not make any further self-sacrifice．She knew that this day would decide it．
In the late afternoon Angel Clare offered to drive the waggon with its buckets of milk to the station． He persuaded Tess to go with him．
At first there was silence as they drove along the quiet road，simply enjoying being close to each other．Soon drops of rain started falling．Tess's cheeks were pink and her long hair was wet．She had no jacket， and crept close to Clare． She held an old piece of cloth over them both to keep the rain off．
‘Well， dear，’ said Angel，‘ what about my question？’
‘I'll answer you soon．’
‘Before we get home？’
‘I'll try．’
They passed an old house． Angel explained that it was an interesting place which belonged to the ancient family of the d’Urbervilles．
‘It's very sad when a noble family dies out，’he said．
‘Yes，’ said Tess．
At last they reached the station and watched the milk being lifted on to the train． Tess was fascinated．
‘Londoners will drink it for breakfast， won't they？ People who don't know we drove for miles in the rain so that it might reach them in time．’
‘That's true， but we drove a little for our own reasons too．Now Tess，’ he said anxiously， as they drove away into the night，‘your heart belongs to me．Why can't you give me your hand as well？’
‘My only reason is you… I have something to tell you—I must fell you about my past life！’
‘Tell me if you want to， dearest．I expect you have had as many experiences as that flower over there！’
‘I grew up in Marlott． And at school they said I would make a good teacher． But there was trouble in my family．Father didn't work very hard and he drank a little．’
‘Poor child！That's nothing new．’ He held her more closely to his side．
‘And there is something unusual about me． I…I am not a Durbeyfield， but a d’Urberville． I'm a descendant of the same family who owned that house we passed．’
‘A d’Urberville！ And is that the whole story， Tess？’
‘Yes，’she answered faintly．
‘Well， why should I love you less because of that？’
‘The dairyman told me you hated old families．’
He laughed．‘Well， I hate the idea that noble blood should be more important than anything else
The days were shorter now， and in the mornings the dairy worked by candlelight．One morning between three and four she ran up to Clare's room to wake him， before waking the others． Having dressed， she was about to go downstairs when Angel came out of his room and stopped her．
‘Now， miss，’he said firmly．‘You must give me an answer or I shall have to leave the house． You aren't safe with me． I saw you just now in your nightdress． Well？ Is it yes at last？’
‘I really will think seriously about it，Mr Clare．’
‘Call me Angel then， and not Mr Clare． Why not Angel dearest？’
‘It would mean I agree， wouldn't it？’
‘It would only mean you love me， and you did admit that long ago．’
‘Very well then， Angel dearest，if I must，’she murmured，smiling． Clare could not resist kissing her warm cheek．
After milking and skimming， all the dairy people went outside． Tess generously tried for the last time to interest Angel in the other dairymaids．
‘There's more in those three than you think， she said．
‘Any of them would make you a better wife than I could． And perhaps they love you as much as I do—almost．’
‘Oh Tessy！’ he cried impatiently． She was so relieved to hear this that she could not make any further self-sacrifice．She knew that this day would decide it．
In the late afternoon Angel Clare offered to drive the waggon with its buckets of milk to the station． He persuaded Tess to go with him．
At first there was silence as they drove along the quiet road，simply enjoying being close to each other．Soon drops of rain started falling．Tess's cheeks were pink and her long hair was wet．She had no jacket， and crept close to Clare． She held an old piece of cloth over them both to keep the rain off．
‘Well， dear，’ said Angel，‘ what about my question？’
‘I'll answer you soon．’
‘Before we get home？’
‘I'll try．’
They passed an old house． Angel explained that it was an interesting place which belonged to the ancient family of the d’Urbervilles．
‘It's very sad when a noble family dies out，’he said．
‘Yes，’ said Tess．
At last they reached the station and watched the milk being lifted on to the train． Tess was fascinated．
‘Londoners will drink it for breakfast， won't they？ People who don't know we drove for miles in the rain so that it might reach them in time．’
‘That's true， but we drove a little for our own reasons too．Now Tess，’ he said anxiously， as they drove away into the night，‘your heart belongs to me．Why can't you give me your hand as well？’
‘My only reason is you… I have something to tell you—I must fell you about my past life！’
‘Tell me if you want to， dearest．I expect you have had as many experiences as that flower over there！’
‘I grew up in Marlott． And at school they said I would make a good teacher． But there was trouble in my family．Father didn't work very hard and he drank a little．’
‘Poor child！That's nothing new．’ He held her more closely to his side．
‘And there is something unusual about me． I…I am not a Durbeyfield， but a d’Urberville． I'm a descendant of the same family who owned that house we passed．’
‘A d’Urberville！ And is that the whole story， Tess？’
‘Yes，’she answered faintly．
‘Well， why should I love you less because of that？’
‘The dairyman told me you hated old families．’
He laughed．‘Well， I hate the idea that noble blood should be more important than anything else