The Woodlanders Part 2, Thomas Hardy [e textbook reader txt] 📗
- Author: Thomas Hardy
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Do Not Love Him," She Went On, With Desperate Untruth. "It Was A
Kindness--My Making somewhat More Of Him Than One Usually Does Of
One'S Doctor. I Was Lonely; I Talked--Well, I Trifled with Him.
I Am Very Sorry If Such Child'S Playing out Of Pure Friendship Has
Been A Serious Matter To You. Who Could Have Expected it? But The
World Is So Simple Here."
"Oh, That'S Affectation," Said Grace, Shaking her Head. "It Is No
Use--You Love Him. I Can See In your Face That In this Matter Of
My Husband You Have Not Let Your Acts Belie Your Feelings. During
These Last Four Or Six Months You Have Been Terribly Indiscreet;
But You Have Not Been Insincere, And That Almost Disarms Me."
"I Have Been Insincere--If You Will Have The Word--I Mean I Have
Coquetted, And Do Not Love Him!"
But Grace Clung To Her Position Like A Limpet. "You May Have
Trifled with Others, But Him You Love As You Never Loved another
Man."
"Oh, Well--I Won'T Argue," Said Mrs. Charmond, Laughing faintly.
"And You Come To Reproach Me For It, Child."
"No," Said Grace, Magnanimously. "You May Go On Loving him If You
Like--I Don'T Mind At All. You'Ll Find It, Let Me Tell You, A
Bitterer Business For Yourself Than For Me In the End. He'Ll Get
Tired of You Soon, As Tired as Can Be--You Don'T Know Him So Well
As I--And Then You May Wish You Had Never Seen Him!"
Mrs. Charmond Had Grown Quite Pale And Weak Under This Prophecy.
It Was Extraordinary That Grace, Whom Almost Every One Would Have
Characterized as A Gentle Girl, Should Be Of Stronger Fibre Than
Her Interlocutor. "You Exaggerate--Cruel, Silly Young Woman," She
Reiterated, Writhing with Little Agonies. "It Is Nothing but
Playful Friendship--Nothing! It Will Be Proved by My Future
Conduct. I Shall At Once Refuse To See Him More--Since It Will
Make No Difference To My Heart, And Much To My Name."
"I Question If You Will Refuse To See Him Again," Said Grace,
Dryly, As With Eyes Askance She Bent A Sapling down. "But I Am
Not Incensed against You As You Are Against Me," She Added,
Abandoning the Tree To Its Natural Perpendicular. "Before I Came
I Had Been Despising you For Wanton Cruelty; Now I Only Pity You
For Misplaced affection. When Edgar Has Gone Out Of The House In
Hope Of Seeing you, At Seasonable Hours And Unseasonable; When I
Have Found Him Riding miles And Miles Across The Country At
Midnight, And Risking his Life, And Getting covered with Mud, To
Get A Glimpse Of You, I Have Called him A Foolish Man--The
Plaything of A Finished coquette. I Thought That What Was Getting
To Be A Tragedy To Me Was A Comedy To You. But Now I See That
Tragedy Lies On Your Side Of The Situation No Less Than On Mine,
And More; That If I Have Felt Trouble At My Position, You Have
Felt Anguish At Yours; That If I Have Had Disappointments, You
Have Had Despairs. Heaven May Fortify Me--God Help You!"
Part 2 Chapter 8 Pg 43
"I Cannot Attempt To Reply To Your Raving eloquence," Returned the
Other, Struggling to Restore A Dignity Which Had Completely
Collapsed. "My Acts Will Be My Proofs. In the World Which You
Have Seen Nothing of, Friendships Between Men And Women Are Not
Unknown, And It Would Have Been Better Both For You And Your
Father If You Had Each Judged me More Respectfully, And Left Me
Alone. As It Is I Wish Never To See Or Speak To You, Madam, Any
More."
Grace Bowed, And Mrs. Charmond Turned away. The Two Went Apart In
Directly Opposite Courses, And Were Soon Hidden From Each Other By
Their Umbrageous Surroundings And By The Shadows Of Eve.
In The Excitement Of Their Long Argument They Had Walked onward
And Zigzagged about Without Regarding direction Or Distance. All
Sound Of The Woodcutters Had Long Since Faded into Remoteness, And
Even Had Not The Interval Been Too Great For Hearing them They
Would Have Been Silent And Homeward Bound At This Twilight Hour.
But Grace Went On Her Course Without Any Misgiving, Though There
Was Much Underwood Here, With Only The Narrowest Passages For
Walking, Across Which Brambles Hung. She Had Not, However,
Traversed this The Wildest Part Of The Wood Since Her Childhood,
And The Transformation Of Outlines Had Been Great; Old Trees Which
Once Were Landmarks Had Been Felled or Blown Down, And The Bushes
Which Then Had Been Small And Scrubby Were Now Large And
Overhanging. She Soon Found That Her Ideas As To Direction Were
Vague--That She Had Indeed no Ideas As To Direction At All. If
The Evening had Not Been Growing so Dark, And The Wind Had Not Put
On Its Night Moan So Distinctly, Grace Would Not Have Minded; But
She Was Rather Frightened now, And Began To Strike Across Hither
And Thither In random Courses.
Denser Grew The Darkness, More Developed the Wind-Voices, And
Still No Recognizable Spot Or Outlet Of Any Kind Appeared, Nor Any
Sound Of The Hintocks Floated near, Though She Had Wandered
Probably Between One And Two Hours, And Began To Be Weary. She
Was Vexed at Her Foolishness, Since The Ground She Had Covered, If
In A Straight Line, Must Inevitably Have Taken Her Out Of The Wood
To Some Remote Village Or Other; But She Had Wasted her Forces In
Countermarches; And Now, In much Alarm, Wondered if She Would Have
To Pass The Night Here. She Stood Still To Meditate, And Fancied
That Between The Soughing of The Wind She Heard Shuffling
Footsteps On The Leaves Heavier Than Those Of Rabbits Or Hares.
Though Fearing at First To Meet Anybody On The Chance Of His Being
A Friend, She Decided that The Fellow Night-Rambler, Even If A
Poacher, Would Not Injure Her, And That He Might Possibly Be Some
One Sent To Search For Her. She Accordingly Shouted a Rather
Timid "Hoi!"
The Cry Was Immediately Returned by The Other Person; And Grace
Running at Once In the Direction Whence It Came Beheld An
Indistinct Figure Hastening up To Her As Rapidly. They Were
Almost In each Other'S Arms When She Recognized in her Vis-A-Vis
The Outline And White Veil Of Her Whom She Had Parted from An Hour
And A Half Before--Mrs. Charmond.
"I Have Lost My Way, I Have Lost My Way," Cried that Lady. "Oh--
Is It Indeed you? I Am So Glad To Meet You Or Anybody. I Have
Part 2 Chapter 8 Pg 44Been Wandering up And Down Ever Since We Parted, And Am Nearly
Dead With Terror And Misery And Fatigue!"
"So Am I," Said Grace. "What Shall We, Shall We Do?"
"You Won'T Go Away From Me?" Asked her Companion, Anxiously.
"No, Indeed. Are You Very Tired?"
"I Can Scarcely Move, And I Am Scratched dreadfully About The
Ankles."
Grace Reflected. "Perhaps, As It Is Dry Under Foot, The Best
Thing for Us To Do Would Be To Sit Down For Half An Hour, And Then
Start Again When We Have Thoroughly Rested. By Walking straight
We Must Come To A Track Leading somewhere Before The Morning."
They Found A Clump Of Bushy Hollies Which Afforded a Shelter From
The Wind, And Sat Down Under It, Some Tufts Of Dead Fern, Crisp
And Dry, That Remained from The Previous Season Forming a Sort Of
Nest For Them. But It Was Cold, Nevertheless, On This March
Night, Particularly For Grace, Who With The Sanguine Prematureness
Of Youth In matters Of Dress, Had Considered it Spring-Time, And
Hence Was Not So Warmly Clad As Mrs. Charmond, Who Still Wore Her
Winter Fur. But After Sitting a While The Latter Lady Shivered no
Less Than Grace As The Warmth Imparted by Her Hasty Walking began
To Go Off, And They Felt The Cold Air Drawing through The Holly
Leaves Which Scratched their Backs And Shoulders. Moreover, They
Could Hear Some Drops Of Rain Falling on The Trees, Though None
Reached the Nook In which They Had Ensconced themselves.
"If We Were To Cling close Together," Said Mrs. Charmond, "We
Should Keep Each Other Warm. But," She Added, In an Uneven Voice,
"I Suppose You Won'T Come Near Me For The World!"
"Why Not?"
"Because--Well, You Know."
"Yes. I Will--I Don'T Hate You At All."
They Consequently Crept Up To One Another, And Being in the Dark,
Lonely And Weary, Did What Neither Had Dreamed of Doing
Beforehand, Clasped each Other Closely, Mrs. Charmond'S Furs
Consoling grace'S Cold Face, And Each One'S Body As She Breathed
Alternately Heaving against That Of Her Companion.
When A Few Minutes Had Been Spent Thus, Mrs. Charmond Said, "I Am
So Wretched!" In a Heavy, Emotional Whisper.
"You Are Frightened," Said Grace, Kindly. "But There Is Nothing
To Fear; I Know These Woods Well."
"I Am Not At All Frightened at The Wood, But I Am At Other
Things."
Mrs. Charmond Embraced grace More And More Tightly, And The
Younger Woman Could Feel Her Neighbor'S Breathings Grow Deeper And
Part 2 Chapter 8 Pg 45More Spasmodic, As Though Uncontrollable Feelings Were
Germinating.
"After I Had Left You," She Went On, "I Regretted something i Had
Said. I Have To Make A Confession--I Must Make It!" She
Whispered, Brokenly, The Instinct To Indulge In warmth Of
Sentiment Which Had Led this Woman Of Passions To Respond To
Fitzpiers In the First Place Leading her Now To Find Luxurious
Comfort In opening her Heart To His Wife. "I Said To You I Could
Give Him Up Without Pain Or Deprivation--That He Had Only Been My
Pastime. That Was Untrue--It Was Said To Deceive You. I Could
Not Do It Without Much Pain; And, What Is More Dreadful, I Cannot
Give Him Up--Even If I Would--Of Myself Alone."
"Why? Because You Love Him, You Mean."
Felice Charmond Denoted assent By A Movement.
"I Knew I Was Right!" Said Grace, Exaltedly. "But That Should Not
Deter You," She Presently Added, In a Moral Tone. "Oh, Do
Struggle Against It, And You Will Conquer!"
"You Are So Simple, So Simple!" Cried felice. "You Think, Because
You Guessed my Assumed indifference To Him To Be A Sham, That You
Know The Extremes That People Are Capable Of Going to! But A Good
Deal More May Have Been Going on Than You Have Fathomed with All
Your Insight. I Cannot Give Him Up Until He Chooses To Give Up
Me."
"But Surely You Are The Superior In station And In every Way, And
The Cut Must Come From You."
"Tchut! Must I Tell Verbatim, You Simple Child? Oh, I Suppose I
Must! I
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