The Woodlanders Part 2, Thomas Hardy [e textbook reader txt] 📗
- Author: Thomas Hardy
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Consequence The Boy Had To Fetch It Overnight. He Put His Head
Through The Collar, And Accompanied his Walk By Whistling the One
Tune He Knew, As An Antidote To Fear.
The Boy Suddenly Became Aware Of A Horse Trotting rather Friskily
Along The Track Behind Him, And Not Knowing whether To Expect
Friend Or Foe, Prudence Suggested that He Should Cease His
Whistling and Retreat Among The Trees Till The Horse And His Rider
Had Gone By; A Course To Which He Was Still More Inclined when He
Found How Noiselessly They Approached, And Saw That The Horse
Looked pale, And Remembered what He Had Read About Death In the
Revelation. He Therefore Deposited the Collar By A Tree, And Hid
Himself Behind It. The Horseman Came On, And The Youth, Whose
Eyes Were As Keen As Telescopes, To His Great Relief Recognized
The Doctor.
As Melbury Surmised, Fitzpiers Had In the Darkness Taken Blossom
For Darling, And He Had Not Discovered his Mistake When He Came Up
Opposite The Boy, Though He Was Somewhat Surprised at The
Liveliness Of His Usually Placid Mare. The Only Other Pair Of
Eyes On The Spot Whose Vision Was Keen As The Young Carter'S Were
Those Of The Horse; And, With That Strongly Conservative Objection
To The Unusual Which Animals Show, Blossom, On Eying the Collar
Under The Tree--Quite Invisible To Fitzpiers--Exercised none Of
The Patience Of The Older Horse, But Shied sufficiently To Unseat
So Second-Rate An Equestrian As The Surgeon.
He Fell, And Did Not Move, Lying as Melbury Afterwards Found Him.
The Boy Ran Away, Salving his Conscience For The Desertion By
Thinking how Vigorously He Would Spread The Alarm Of The Accident
When He Got To Hintock--Which He Uncompromisingly Did, Incrusting
The Skeleton Event With A Load Of Dramatic Horrors.
Part 2 Chapter 10 Pg 58
Grace Had Returned, And The Fly Hired on Her Account, Though Not
By Her Husband, At The Crown Hotel, Shottsford-Forum, Had Been
Paid For And Dismissed. The Long Drive Had Somewhat Revived her,
Her Illness Being a Feverish Intermittent Nervousness Which Had
More To Do With Mind Than Body, And She Walked about Her Sitting-
Room In something of A Hopeful Mood. Mrs. Melbury Had Told Her As
Soon As She Arrived that Her Husband Had Returned from London. He
Had Gone Out, She Said, To See A Patient, As She Supposed, And He
Must Soon Be Back, Since He Had Had No Dinner Or Tea. Grace Would
Not Allow Her Mind To Harbor Any Suspicion Of His Whereabouts, And
Her Step-Mother Said Nothing of Mrs. Charmond'S Rumored sorrows
And Plans Of Departure.
So The Young Wife Sat By The Fire, Waiting silently. She Had Left
Hintock In a Turmoil Of Feeling after The Revelation Of Mrs.
Charmond, And Had Intended not To Be At Home When Her Husband
Returned. But She Had Thought The Matter Over, And Had Allowed
Her Father'S Influence To Prevail And Bring her Back; And Now
Somewhat Regretted that Edgar'S Arrival Had Preceded hers.
By-And-By Mrs. Melbury Came Up-Stairs With A Slight Air Of Flurry
And Abruptness.
"I Have Something to Tell--Some Bad News," She Said. "But You
Must Not Be Alarmed, As It Is Not So Bad As It Might Have Been.
Edgar Has Been Thrown Off His Horse. We Don'T Think He Is Hurt
Much. It Happened in the Wood The Other Side Of Nellcombe Bottom,
Where 'Tis Said The Ghosts Of The Brothers Walk."
She Went On To Give A Few Of The Particulars, But None Of The
Invented horrors That Had Been Communicated by The Boy. "I
Thought It Better To Tell You At Once," She Added, "In Case He
Should Not Be Very Well Able To Walk Home, And Somebody Should
Bring him."
Mrs. Melbury Really Thought Matters Much Worse Than She
Represented, And Grace Knew That She Thought So. She Sat Down
Dazed for A Few Minutes, Returning a Negative To Her Step-Mother'S
Inquiry If She Could Do Anything for Her. "But Please Go Into The
Bedroom," Grace Said, On Second Thoughts, "And See If All Is Ready
There--In Case It Is Serious." Mrs. Melbury Thereupon Called
Grammer, And They Did As Directed, Supplying the Room With
Everything they Could Think Of For The Accommodation Of An Injured
Man.
Nobody Was Left In the Lower Part Of The House. Not Many Minutes
Passed when Grace Heard A Knock At The Door--A Single Knock, Not
Loud Enough To Reach The Ears Of Those In the Bedroom. She Went
To The Top Of The Stairs And Said, Faintly, "Come Up," Knowing
That The Door Stood, As Usual In such Houses, Wide Open.
Retreating into The Gloom Of The Broad Landing she Saw Rise Up The
Stairs A Woman Whom At First She Did Not Recognize, Till Her Voice
Revealed her To Be Suke Damson, In great Fright And Sorrow. A
Streak Of Light From The Partially Closed door Of Grace'S Room
Fell Upon Her Face As She Came Forward, And It Was Drawn And Pale.
"Oh, Miss Melbury--I Would Say Mrs. Fitzpiers," She Said, Wringing
Part 2 Chapter 10 Pg 59Her Hands. "This Terrible News. Is He Dead? Is He Hurted very
Bad? Tell Me; I Couldn'T Help Coming; Please Forgive Me, Miss
Melbury--Mrs. Fitzpiers I Would Say!"
Grace Sank Down On The Oak Chest Which Stood On The Landing, And
Put Her Hands To Her Now Flushed face And Head. Could She Order
Suke Damson Down-Stairs And Out Of The House? Her Husband Might Be
Brought In at Any Moment, And What Would Happen? But Could She
Order This Genuinely Grieved woman Away?
There Was A Dead Silence Of Half A Minute Or So, Till Suke Said,
"Why Don'T Ye Speak? Is He Here? Is He Dead? If So, Why Can'T I
See Him--Would It Be So Very Wrong?"
Before Grace Had Answered somebody Else Came To The Door Below--A
Foot-Fall Light As A Roe'S. There Was A Hurried tapping upon The
Panel, As If With The Impatient Tips Of Fingers Whose Owner
Thought Not Whether A Knocker Were There Or No. Without A Pause,
And Possibly Guided by The Stray Beam Of Light On The Landing, The
Newcomer Ascended the Staircase As The First Had Done. Grace Was
Sufficiently Visible, And The Lady, For A Lady It Was, Came To Her
Side.
"I Could Make Nobody Hear Down-Stairs," Said Felice Charmond, With
Lips Whose Dryness Could Almost Be Heard, And Panting, As She
Stood Like One Ready To Sink On The Floor With Distress. "What
Is--The Matter--Tell Me The Worst! Can He Live?" She Looked at
Grace Imploringly, Without Perceiving poor Suke, Who, Dismayed at
Such A Presence, Had Shrunk Away Into The Shade.
Mrs. Charmond'S Little Feet Were Covered with Mud; She Was Quite
Unconscious Of Her Appearance Now. "I Have Heard Such A Dreadful
Report," She Went On; "I Came To Ascertain The Truth Of It. Is
He--Killed?"
"She Won'T Tell Us--He'S Dying--He'S In that Room!" Burst Out
Suke, Regardless Of Consequences, As She Heard The Distant
Movements Of Mrs. Melbury And Grammer In the Bedroom At The End Of
The Passage.
"Where?" Said Mrs. Charmond; And On Suke Pointing out The
Direction, She Made As If To Go Thither.
Grace Barred the Way. "He Is Not There," She Said. "I Have Not
Seen Him Any More Than You. I Have Heard A Report Only--Not So
Bad As You Think. It Must Have Been Exaggerated to You."
"Please Do Not Conceal Anything--Let Me Know All!" Said Felice,
Doubtingly.
"You Shall Know All I Know--You Have A Perfect Right To Know--Who
Can Have A Better Than Either Of You?" Said Grace, With A Delicate
Sting which Was Lost Upon Felice Charmond Now. "I Repeat, I Have
Only Heard A Less Alarming account Than You Have Heard; How Much
It Means, And How Little, I Cannot Say. I Pray God That It Means
Not Much--In Common Humanity. You Probably Pray The Same--For
Other Reasons."
Part 2 Chapter 10 Pg 60
She Regarded them Both There In the Dim Light A While.
They Stood Dumb In their Trouble, Not Stinging back At Her; Not
Heeding her Mood. A Tenderness Spread Over Grace Like A Dew. It
Was Well, Very Well, Conventionally, To Address Either One Of Them
In The Wife'S Regulation Terms Of Virtuous Sarcasm, As Woman,
Creature, Or Thing, For Losing their Hearts To Her Husband. But
Life, What Was It, And Who Was She? She Had, Like The Singer Of
The Psalm Of Asaph, Been Plagued and Chastened all The Day Long;
But Could She, By Retributive Words, In order To Please Herself--
The Individual--"Offend Against The Generation," As He Would Not?
"He Is Dying, Perhaps," Blubbered suke Damson, Putting her Apron
To Her Eyes.
In Their Gestures And Faces There Were Anxieties, Affection, Agony
Of Heart, All For A Man Who Had Wronged them--Had Never Really
Behaved towards Either Of Them Anyhow But Selfishly. Neither One
But Would Have Wellnigh Sacrificed half Her Life To Him, Even Now.
The Tears Which His Possibly Critical Situation Could Not Bring to
Her Eyes Surged over At The Contemplation Of These Fellow-Women.
She Turned to The Balustrade, Bent Herself Upon It, And Wept.
Thereupon Felice Began To Cry Also, Without Using her
Handkerchief, And Letting the Tears Run Down Silently. While
These Three Poor Women Stood Together Thus, Pitying another Though
Most To Be Pitied themselves, The Pacing of A Horse Or Horses
Became Audible In the Court, And In a Moment Melbury'S Voice Was
Heard Calling to His Stableman. Grace At Once Started up, Ran
Down The Stairs And Out Into The Quadrangle As Her Father Crossed
It Towards The Door. "Father, What Is The Matter With Him?" She
Cried.
"Who--Edgar?" Said Melbury, Abruptly. "Matter? Nothing. What, My
Dear, And Have You Got Home Safe? Why, You Are Better Already! But
You Ought Not To Be Out In the Air Like This."
"But He Has Been Thrown Off His Horse!"
"I Know; I Know. I Saw It. He Got Up Again, And Walked off As
Well As Ever. A Fall On The Leaves Didn'T Hurt A Spry Fellow Like
Him. He Did Not Come This Way," He Added, Significantly. "I
Suppose He Went To Look For His Horse. I Tried to Find Him, But
Could Not. But After Seeing him Go Away Under The Trees I Found
The Horse, And Have Led it Home For Safety. So He Must Walk.
Now, Don'T You Stay Out Here In this Night Air.
She Returned to The House With Her Father. When She Had Again
Ascended to The Landing and To Her Own Rooms Beyond It Was A Great
Relief To Her To Find That
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