06-04-苔丝 [91]
to the road－from the station—and I've been following you all this way！’She was pale，breathless and trembling．He did not question her but took her arm and helped her along．They took a footpath under some trees，to avoid being seen．
‘Angel，’she said，‘do you know why I've been running after you？To tell you that I've killed him！’There was a pitiful smile on her white face as she spoke．
‘What!’he cried，thinking her mind was disturbed．
‘I don't know how I did it，’she said．‘I had to do it，for you and me，Angel．I was afraid long ago，when I hit him in the mouth with that heavy glove，that I might kill him one day．He has come between us and ruined our lives．I never loved him at all，Angel．You believe me，don't you？Oh，why did you go away，when I loved you so much？But I don't blame you，Angel．Only，will you forgive me now？I could not bear losing you any longer，I had to kill him．Say you love me now，say you do！’
‘Oh，I do love you，Tess，I do．It has all come back！’he said，holding her tightly in his arms．‘But what do you mean，you've killed him？’
‘He is dead．He heard me crying about you，and he called you rude names．I couldn't bear it．So I killed him．’
Eventually Angel came to believe that she probably had killed d'Urberville．He was amazed at the strength of her feeling，and this，it seemed，had made her forget the difference between right and wrong．She did not seem to realize what she had done，and laid her head on his shoulder，crying with happiness．He wondered if the bad blood of the d'Urbervilles was to blame for this moment of madness．
However，he knew he could not leave her now．She expected him to protect her．And at last，Clare felt nothing but love for this passionate，loving wife of his．He kissed her again and again，and held her hand．
‘I won't leave you！I'll protect you as well as I can，my dearest love，whatever you may or may not have done！’
They walked on，less turning her head occasionally to look at him．For her he was still perfection，despite his thinness and pale face．He was the one man who had loved her purely，and who believed in her as pure．Their arms around each other's waists，they walked through the woods on lonely footpaths，taking care not to meet anybody．They did not talk much，being content to be together at last．
‘Where shall we go？’asked Tess．
‘I don't know．Perhaps we could find a cottage to stay in tonight．Can you walk a long way，Tessy？’
‘Oh yes！I could walk for ever with your arm around me！’ At midday Angel went to a public house and brought food and wine back to where Tess was waiting in the woods for him．Her clothes were so fashionable that the country people would have noticed her．
‘I think we should keep walking inland，away from the coasts，said Clare，as they finished eating．‘We can hide there for a while．Later on，when they stop looking for us，we can go to a port and get right out of the country．’
But their plans were vague．They were like two children，who think only of the moment．The weather was warm and they enjoyed walking together．However，in the afternoon they did nut find any suitable cottages to stay in，and it was too cold to sleep outside．They had walked about fifteen miles，when they passed a large empty house in the middle of the woods．
‘All those rooms empty！’said Tess，‘and we have no shelter！’
‘We can stay the night there，’said Clare．‘Look，there's a window open．The caretaker probably airs the rooms in the daytime．We can climb in．Nobody will know．’
And so they did．They chose a bedroom with heavy old－fashioned furniture and a huge old bed．They kept quiet while the caretaker came to shut the windows in the evening．Then the house was theirs．They ate some of the food they had brought，and went
‘Angel，’she said，‘do you know why I've been running after you？To tell you that I've killed him！’There was a pitiful smile on her white face as she spoke．
‘What!’he cried，thinking her mind was disturbed．
‘I don't know how I did it，’she said．‘I had to do it，for you and me，Angel．I was afraid long ago，when I hit him in the mouth with that heavy glove，that I might kill him one day．He has come between us and ruined our lives．I never loved him at all，Angel．You believe me，don't you？Oh，why did you go away，when I loved you so much？But I don't blame you，Angel．Only，will you forgive me now？I could not bear losing you any longer，I had to kill him．Say you love me now，say you do！’
‘Oh，I do love you，Tess，I do．It has all come back！’he said，holding her tightly in his arms．‘But what do you mean，you've killed him？’
‘He is dead．He heard me crying about you，and he called you rude names．I couldn't bear it．So I killed him．’
Eventually Angel came to believe that she probably had killed d'Urberville．He was amazed at the strength of her feeling，and this，it seemed，had made her forget the difference between right and wrong．She did not seem to realize what she had done，and laid her head on his shoulder，crying with happiness．He wondered if the bad blood of the d'Urbervilles was to blame for this moment of madness．
However，he knew he could not leave her now．She expected him to protect her．And at last，Clare felt nothing but love for this passionate，loving wife of his．He kissed her again and again，and held her hand．
‘I won't leave you！I'll protect you as well as I can，my dearest love，whatever you may or may not have done！’
They walked on，less turning her head occasionally to look at him．For her he was still perfection，despite his thinness and pale face．He was the one man who had loved her purely，and who believed in her as pure．Their arms around each other's waists，they walked through the woods on lonely footpaths，taking care not to meet anybody．They did not talk much，being content to be together at last．
‘Where shall we go？’asked Tess．
‘I don't know．Perhaps we could find a cottage to stay in tonight．Can you walk a long way，Tessy？’
‘Oh yes！I could walk for ever with your arm around me！’ At midday Angel went to a public house and brought food and wine back to where Tess was waiting in the woods for him．Her clothes were so fashionable that the country people would have noticed her．
‘I think we should keep walking inland，away from the coasts，said Clare，as they finished eating．‘We can hide there for a while．Later on，when they stop looking for us，we can go to a port and get right out of the country．’
But their plans were vague．They were like two children，who think only of the moment．The weather was warm and they enjoyed walking together．However，in the afternoon they did nut find any suitable cottages to stay in，and it was too cold to sleep outside．They had walked about fifteen miles，when they passed a large empty house in the middle of the woods．
‘All those rooms empty！’said Tess，‘and we have no shelter！’
‘We can stay the night there，’said Clare．‘Look，there's a window open．The caretaker probably airs the rooms in the daytime．We can climb in．Nobody will know．’
And so they did．They chose a bedroom with heavy old－fashioned furniture and a huge old bed．They kept quiet while the caretaker came to shut the windows in the evening．Then the house was theirs．They ate some of the food they had brought，and went