# ■ 10 Bathsheba in love

Once or twice during the next few days Bathsheba saw Troy working in her hayflelds. He behaved in a pleasant，friendly manner towards her，and she began to lose her fear of him.

‘Cutting your hay is harder work than sword practice！’he told her one day，a smile lighting up his handsome face.

‘Is it？I've never seen sword practice，’she answered.

‘Ah！Would you like to？’asked Troy.

Bathsheba hesitated. She had heard wonderful stories from people who had watched soldiers practising，stories of shining metal flashing through the air.

‘I would like to see it，very much. ’

‘Well，I'll show you. I can get a sword by this evening. Will you…’and he bent over her，whispering in her ear.

‘Oh no！’said Bathsheba，blushing. ‘I couldn't. ’

‘Surely you could？ Nobody would know. ’

‘Well，if I came，Liddy would have to come with me. ’

‘I don't see why you want to bring her，’Troy said coldly.

‘Well then，I won't bring her—and I'll come. But only for a very short time. ’

So at eight o'clock that evening，Bathsheba found herself，in spite of her doubts，climbing the hill near her house and go－ing down the other side. Now she was in what seemed like a natural theatre，a deep，round hollow in the ground. It was completely hidden from her house and the path. This was the place where Troy had asked her to meet him.

And Troy，in his bright red uniform，was there.

‘Now，he said，producing his sword，which flashed in the evening sunlight，‘let me show you. One，two，three，four. Like this！A sword can kill a man in a second. ’

Bathsheba saw a kind of rainbow in the air，and gasped.

‘How cruel and murderous！’she cried.

‘Yes. Now I'll pretend to fight you. You are my enemy，but the only difference from a real fight is that I'll miss you each time. Stand in front of me，and don't move！’

Bathsheba was beginning to enjoy this. ‘I'll just test you first，’added Troy，‘to see whether you're brave enough. ’

The sword flashed in the air，from her left to right side. It seemed to go through her body. But there it was again in Troy's hand，perfectly clean and free from blood.

‘Oh！’she cried，frightened. ‘Have you killed me？No，yon haven't！How did you do it？’

‘I haven't touched you，’said Troy quietly. ‘Now， you aren't afraid，are you？I promise I won't hurt you，or even touch you. ’

‘I don't think I'm afraid. Is the sword very sharp？’

‘Oh no—just stand very still. Now！’

In a second，Bathsheba could no longer see the sky or the ground. The shining weapon flashed above，around and in 110 front of her，catching light from the low sun and whistling as it rushed through the air. Never had Sergeant Troy managed his sword better than today.

‘Your hair is a little untidy，’he said. ‘Allow me，’and before she could move or speak，a curl dropped to the ground.

‘You are very brave，for a woman！’he congratulated her.

‘It was because I didn't expect it. Now I'm afraid of you，I am，really！’

‘This time I won't even touch your hair. I'm going to kill that insect on your dress. Stand still！’

Not daring to tremble，she saw the point of his sword coming towards her heart，and，sure that this time she would die，closed her eyes. But when she opened them，she saw the insect，dead，on the point of the sword.

‘It's magic！’she cried. ‘And how could you cut off one of my curls with a sword that isn't sharp？’

‘It's sharper than any knife，’he said. ‘I had to lie to you about that，to give you the confidence to stand still. ’

Bathsheba's feelings were almost too much for her to control，and she sat down suddenly in the grass.

‘I could have died，’she whispered.

‘You were perfectly safe，’Troy told her. ‘My sword never makes a mistake. I must leave you now. I'll keep this to re－mind me of you. ’He bent to pick up the curl of hair，which he put carefully in his pocket，next to his heart. She was not strong enough to say or do anything. He came closer，bent 112 again，and a minute later his red coat disappeared through the grass. Bathsheba blushed guiltily and tears rolled down her face. In that minute Troy had kissed her on the lips.

Determined，independent women often show their weakness when they fall in love，and Bathsheba had very little experi-ence of the world，or of men. It was as difficult for her to see Troy's bad qualities，which he kept carefully hidden，as to ad-mire Gabriel Oak's good ones，which were not all obvious at first sight.

One evening a few days later，Gabriel went to find his mis-tress. He knew that she was falling in love，and had decided to warn her of the mistake she was making. He found her walking along a path through the fields.

‘I was worried about your walking alone，miss，’he said.

‘It's rather late，and there are some bad men in the area. ’He was hoping to introduce Troy's name as one of the ‘bad men’.

‘I never meet any，’said Bathsheba lightly.

Gabriel tried again. ‘Farmer Boldwood will be taking care of you in future，of course. ’

‘What do you mean，Gabriel？’

‘Well，when you and he are married，miss，as everybody expects. You've let him court you，after all. ’

‘Everybody is wrong，Gabriel. I didn't promise him any－thing. I respect him，but I won't marry him. ’

‘I wish you had never met that young Sergeant Troy，114 miss，’be said sadly. ‘He's not good enough for you. ’

‘How dare you say that！He's of good family，and well－educated！’replied Bathsheba angrily.

‘He can't be trusted，miss. Don't trust him，I beg you. ’

‘He's as good as anybody in the village！He goes to church regularly！He told me so himself. ’

‘I'm afraid nobody has ever seen him in church. I certainly haven't. ’Cabriel's heart ached when he saw how completely Bathsheba trusted the soldier.

‘That's because he enters by the old tower door and sits at the back，where he can't be seen，’she replied eagerly.

‘You know，mistress，’said Gabriel in a deep voice full of sadness，‘that I love you and shall love you for ever. I accept that I can't marry you now that I'm poor. But Bathsheba，dear mistress，think of your position！Be careful of your behaviour towards this soldier Mr Boldwood is sixteen years older than you. Consider how well he would lood after you！’

‘Leave my farm，Cabriel，’said Bathsheba，her face white with anger. ‘You can't speak like that to me，your mistress！’

‘Don't be foolish！You've already sent me away once. How would you manage without me？No，although I'd like to have my own farm，I'll stay with you，and you know why. ’

‘Well，I suppose you can stay if you wish. Will you leave me here now please？I ask not as your mistress，but as a woman.

‘Of course，Miss Everdene，’said Gabriel gently. He was a little surprised by her request，as it was getting dark，and they were on a lonely hill some way from her house. As she moved away from him，the reason became clear. The figure of a soldier appeared on the hill and came to meet Bathsheba. Gabriel turned away and walked sadly home. On his way he passed the church，where he looked closely at the old tower door. It was covered with climbing plants，and clearly had not been used for years.

Half an hour later Bathsheba arrived home，with Troy's words of love still in her ears. He had kissed her a second time. Wild and feverish with excitement，she sat down imme-diately to write to Boldwood，to inform him that she could not marry him. The letter would reach him on his business trip. She was so enger to send the letter at once that she called Liddy to post it.

‘Liddy，tell me，’she said urgently，when her maid entered the room，promise me that Sergeant Troy isn't a bad man. Promise me that he doesn't chase girls，as people say！’

‘But，miss，how can I say he doesn't if he—’

‘Don't be so cruel，Liddy！Say you don't believe he's had！’

‘I don't know what to say，miss，’said Liddy，beginning to cry. ‘I'll make you angry whatever I say！’

‘Oh，how weak I am！How I wish I'd never seen him！You see how much I love him，Liddy！Don't tell anyone my secret，Liddy！’

‘I'll keep your secret，miss，’said Liddy gently.

■ 10 芭絲謝芭墜入情網

以後的幾天中，芭絲謝芭有一兩次看到託伊在乾草地裡幹活。他對她表現出一種和藹、友好的態度，她不再害怕他了。

“給你割草比練劍更苦！”一天，他對她說，英俊的臉上帶著微笑，更加容光煥發。

“是嗎？我從沒見過練劍，”她答道。

“你願意看一次嗎？”託伊問。

芭絲謝芭有點猶豫。她曾聽過看過戰士練劍的人講那些美妙的故事，關於閃亮的金屬在空中飛舞的故事。

“我非常願意看看。”

“好，我表演給你看。我今晚可以弄到一把劍。那你……”他俯身對她耳語著。

“噢，不！”芭絲謝芭羞紅了臉說。“我不能。”

“你當然可以。誰也不會知道。”

“要是我來，利蒂也得跟我來。”

“我不懂你為什麼要帶她，”託伊冷冷地說。

“那好吧，我不帶她——我自己來。不過，只來一小會兒。”

那天晚上八點，儘管疑慮重重，芭絲謝芭還是上了她家附近的那座山，然後又從山的另一面下了山。現在她來到的地方看起來像一個天然劇場，一個很深的、圓形的谷底。無論是從她的房裡還是從路上都看不到這個地方。這就是託伊要她和他會面的地方。

身著大紅軍眼的託伊正等在那裡。

“現在，”他拿出劍說，劍在夕陽的餘輝中閃著光，“讓我給你表演表演。一、二、三、四。像這樣！傾刻間劍能殺死一個人。”

芭絲謝芭看到空中有一種彩虹，她有點透不過氣來。

“多麼殘酷凶險啊！”她喊道。

“是的。現在我假裝和你搏鬥。你是敵人，唯一不同於真的搏鬥的是每次我都不擊中你。站在我面前，別動！”

芭絲謝芭覺得這樣挺好玩的。“我先考驗你一下，”託伊又說，“看你是否勇敢。”

劍從她的左邊至右邊，在空中一閃而過。就像穿她的身體而過。可它又落到了託伊手中，乾淨如初，沒有一點血汙。

“天哪！”她驚恐地喊到。“你殺死我了嗎？不，沒有！你是怎麼弄的？”

“我沒碰你，”託伊平靜地說。“怎麼，你害怕了，是嗎？我說過不會傷著你，連碰都不會碰著你。”

“我並不以為自己害怕。劍很鋒利嗎？”

“不鋒利，站著別動。好！”

剎那間，芭絲謝芭既看不到天也看不到地。劍光閃閃，在她的周圍上下翻飛，映著夕陽的餘暉，在空中呼嘯作聲。託伊中士從未像今天這樣把劍練得這麼好。

“你的頭髮有點亂，”他說，“允許我，”她還沒能動一下或說句話，一綹兒頭髮已落到了地上。“作為一個女人，你非常勇敢！”他讚歎道。

“那是因為我不知道你會這樣。現在，我害怕你了，真的！”

“這次，我都不會碰著你的頭髮。我要殺死你裙子上的那個蟲子。站著別動！”

甚至都不敢抖一下，她看到他的劍尖向自己的心臟刺來。她閉上了眼，確信這次自己必死無疑，等她睜開眼時，她看到那條蟲子在劍尖上死了。

“太神奇了！”她叫起來。“你怎麼能用不鋒利的劍削掉我的頭髮呢？”

“這把劍比任何一把刀都鋒利，”他說，“我只能對你說謊，為的是讓你有信心站著別動。”

芭絲謝芭無法控制自己的感情，她跌坐在草地上。

“我差點沒了命，”她低聲說。

“你絕對安全，”託伊對她說。“我的劍不會出半點差錯。現在，我得走了。這個我得留著，好讓我想著你。”他彎腰拎起那綹頭髮，仔細地放到衣袋裡，緊貼著他的心口。她仍然軟得說不出話，動彈不得。他走近她，俯下身來，他的紅上衣馬上就消失在草叢裡了。她負疚地臉紅了，流下了眼淚。就在這一刻，託伊吻了她的雙脣。

自主強幹的女人墜入情網時，往往會暴露出自身的弱點。芭絲謝芭不諳世事，也不瞭解男人，因此她很難看到託伊精心掩藏的壞品質，也就無法欣賞蓋伯瑞爾·奧克的好品質，況且這種好的品質在初識時並不明顯。

幾天後的一個晚上，蓋伯瑞爾去找他的女主人。他知道她在戀愛，於是決定告誡她，她正在犯錯誤。他找到她時，她正在田間的一條小路上散步。

“你一個人散步，我挺替你擔心，小姐，”他說。“天很晚了，這一帶可是有那麼幾個壞蛋哪！”他是想引出託伊的名字，把他歸在“那麼幾個壞蛋”裡。

“我一個也沒碰見，”芭絲謝芭輕聲說。

蓋伯瑞爾重新試探。“將來伯德伍德農場主就會照料你了。”

“你什麼意思，蓋伯瑞爾？”

“我是說，你和他結婚以後，小姐。大家都這樣想。總歸是你讓他向你求婚的呀。”

“大家都想錯了，蓋伯瑞爾。我什麼也沒答應他，我尊重他，可我不會嫁給他的。”

“你真不該見那個年輕的託伊中士，小姐。”他哀傷地說。“他可不大能配得上你。”

“你怎麼敢這樣說呢！他家境好，又受過良好的教育。”芭絲謝芭生氣地回答道。

“他這個人不可信，小姐。別信他，求你啦。”

“他和這個村裡的其他任何人都一樣，按時上教堂，這是他親口對我說的。”

“恐怕誰也沒在教堂裡見過他吧，我是肯定沒見過他。”蓋伯瑞爾看到芭絲謝芭那樣信任那個士兵，心都痛了。

“那是因為他總是從舊塔門進教堂，而且總坐在後排人們看不見的地方。”她急切地回答道。

“你知道嗎，主人，”蓋伯瑞爾聲音低沉，充滿傷感，“我愛你，而且將永遠愛你。我承認現在我窮，無法娶你。可是芭絲謝芭，我親愛的主人，你也得想一想自己的情況啊！與那個兵交往時要小心。伯德伍德先生大你16歲，你想想，他肯定會照料好你的！”

“蓋伯瑞爾，你得離開我的農場，”芭絲謝芭說，她的瞼氣得發白。“你不能用那樣的口氣和我說話，我是你的女主人！”

“別傻了！你已經把我趕走一次了，你沒有我怎麼能行？不行的。雖然我也想有自己的農場，可是我還是要留下來，你知道這是為了什麼。”

“那好吧，如果你想留下來，也可以。不過，請你現在走開好嗎？我作為一個女人，而不是你的女主人，求你了。”

“當然可以，伊芙丁小姐。”蓋伯瑞爾輕聲說道。她的請求令他稍感意外，因為此刻天已漸黑，而此處又是一座偏僻寂靜的山上，離開住所尚有一段距離。隨著她轉身走開，理由便明白了。一個士兵的身影出現在山上，前來與芭絲謝芭相會。蓋伯瑞爾轉過身去，傷心地回家去了。路過教堂時，他仔細查看了一下那個舊塔門，只見上面覆滿藤蔓，顯然已經有些年頭沒有人出入了。

半小時後，芭絲謝芭回到了家，滿耳朵灌著託伊的情話。他第二次吻了她，使她激動不已，熱情高漲。於是，她立刻坐下來給伯德伍德寫信，告訴他自己不能嫁給他。這封信會在他外出辦事途中送到他的手裡。她急於馬上把信發出，於是叫來利蒂，讓她去寄。

“利蒂，你告訴我，”她的女僕進屋後，她便急切地說。“對我保證託伊中士不是壞人，對我保證他不像人們說的那樣追逐女人。”

“可是，小姐，他追不追女人我也不好說呀……”

“別這麼讓我痛苦啦，利蒂。對我說你不相信他是壞人。”

“我不知道說什麼好，小姐，”利蒂說著哭了起來。“不管我說什麼，都會讓你生氣的！”

“哎呀，我可真軟弱，我真不該看見他！你知道我愛他愛極了，利蒂！你千萬別把我的祕密告訴別人啊，利蒂！”

“我會替你保密的，小姐。”利蒂輕聲地說。