06-04-苔丝 [73]
You should have told me！But before we part，come，put your hand on this stone．It was once a holy cross．I'm afraid of your power over me．Swear on the cross that you will never tempt me into wickedness！’
‘Good God！How can you ask such an unnecessary thing！I don't want to see you ever again！’
‘No，but swear it．’
Tess placed her hand on the stone and swore．
‘I shall pray for you，’called Alec as he walked away．‘Who knows，we may meet again！’
Tess went on her way，feeling upset，and soon met a man on the road．He told her that the cross was not religious，but marked the place where a criminal was put to death and buried．Trembling a little at this information，she finally arrived at Flintcomb－Ash．
One day the following week when Tess was working in the fields as usual，Alec d’Urberville came to see her．He explained to her that he intended to sell his land at Trantridge and go to help poor people in Africa．
‘Will you help me put right the wicked thing I did to you？Will you be my wife？’
‘Oh no，sir！’she cried，horrified．
‘Why not？’Disappointment was visible in his face．It was not only duty which pushed him to make this offer，but also his old passion for her．
‘You know I don't love you，’answered Tess．‘In fact，I love somebody else．’
‘Perhaps that is only a passing feeling…’
‘No！’
‘Yes！Why not？You must tell me！’
‘Well，then… I have married him．’
‘Ah！’he cried and looked hard at her．
‘It's a secret here，’she begged．‘Please don't tell anybody．’
‘Who is he？’asked d’Urberville．‘Where is he？Why isn't he here to look after you？What sort of husband can he be，leaving you to work like this？’
‘Don't ask！’cried Tess，her eyes flashing．
‘Your eyes！’whispered Alec．‘I thought I no longer felt anything for you，but when I look into your eyes…’He took her hand．
She pulled it quickly away．
‘Go now，please，in the name of your new religion，go！Respect me and my husband！’
‘Don't worry，I can control myself．I just hoped that our marriage would take away the bad in both of us．But that plan is no good now．’He walked slowly away，his head bent in thought．
The farmer approached at that moment and was angry with Tess for wasting time talking to a stranger．Tess preferred hard words from this man of stone to sweet ones from Alec d’Urberville．For a moment，however，she imagined escaping from her present hard life by marrying Alec，but rejected it immediately．
At home that night she began a letter to Clare，telling him of her great love for him．Reading between the lines he would have seen her secret fear for the future．But again she could not finish the letter，thinking of his offer to lzz，and so he never received it．
On a Sunday in February she was eating her lunch in the cottage where she lived，when d’Urberville knocked at the door．He rushed in and threw himself into a chair．
‘Tess！’he cried desperately．‘I can't help it！I can't stop thinking of you！Pray for me，Tess！’
Tess did not pity him．‘I cannot because I don't believe God would change His plans just because I asked Him．’
‘Who told you that？’
‘My husband．’
‘Ah，your dear husband… Tell me what he believes．’
Tess explained，as clearly as she could remember，Angel's beliefs．Alec watched her closely．
‘The fact is，you just believe whatever he says．That's just like you women！’
‘Ah，that's because he knows everything！’Tess replied with enthusiasm．‘What is good enough for him is good enough for me．’
‘H'm，interesting，’murmured d’Urberville．‘Perhaps he understands religion better than old Mr Clare．Perhaps he's right not to attach
‘Good God！How can you ask such an unnecessary thing！I don't want to see you ever again！’
‘No，but swear it．’
Tess placed her hand on the stone and swore．
‘I shall pray for you，’called Alec as he walked away．‘Who knows，we may meet again！’
Tess went on her way，feeling upset，and soon met a man on the road．He told her that the cross was not religious，but marked the place where a criminal was put to death and buried．Trembling a little at this information，she finally arrived at Flintcomb－Ash．
One day the following week when Tess was working in the fields as usual，Alec d’Urberville came to see her．He explained to her that he intended to sell his land at Trantridge and go to help poor people in Africa．
‘Will you help me put right the wicked thing I did to you？Will you be my wife？’
‘Oh no，sir！’she cried，horrified．
‘Why not？’Disappointment was visible in his face．It was not only duty which pushed him to make this offer，but also his old passion for her．
‘You know I don't love you，’answered Tess．‘In fact，I love somebody else．’
‘Perhaps that is only a passing feeling…’
‘No！’
‘Yes！Why not？You must tell me！’
‘Well，then… I have married him．’
‘Ah！’he cried and looked hard at her．
‘It's a secret here，’she begged．‘Please don't tell anybody．’
‘Who is he？’asked d’Urberville．‘Where is he？Why isn't he here to look after you？What sort of husband can he be，leaving you to work like this？’
‘Don't ask！’cried Tess，her eyes flashing．
‘Your eyes！’whispered Alec．‘I thought I no longer felt anything for you，but when I look into your eyes…’He took her hand．
She pulled it quickly away．
‘Go now，please，in the name of your new religion，go！Respect me and my husband！’
‘Don't worry，I can control myself．I just hoped that our marriage would take away the bad in both of us．But that plan is no good now．’He walked slowly away，his head bent in thought．
The farmer approached at that moment and was angry with Tess for wasting time talking to a stranger．Tess preferred hard words from this man of stone to sweet ones from Alec d’Urberville．For a moment，however，she imagined escaping from her present hard life by marrying Alec，but rejected it immediately．
At home that night she began a letter to Clare，telling him of her great love for him．Reading between the lines he would have seen her secret fear for the future．But again she could not finish the letter，thinking of his offer to lzz，and so he never received it．
On a Sunday in February she was eating her lunch in the cottage where she lived，when d’Urberville knocked at the door．He rushed in and threw himself into a chair．
‘Tess！’he cried desperately．‘I can't help it！I can't stop thinking of you！Pray for me，Tess！’
Tess did not pity him．‘I cannot because I don't believe God would change His plans just because I asked Him．’
‘Who told you that？’
‘My husband．’
‘Ah，your dear husband… Tell me what he believes．’
Tess explained，as clearly as she could remember，Angel's beliefs．Alec watched her closely．
‘The fact is，you just believe whatever he says．That's just like you women！’
‘Ah，that's because he knows everything！’Tess replied with enthusiasm．‘What is good enough for him is good enough for me．’
‘H'm，interesting，’murmured d’Urberville．‘Perhaps he understands religion better than old Mr Clare．Perhaps he's right not to attach