Chapter 9 Bathsheba meets a handsome soldier

Farmers always gave a special supper to the sheep shearers when they had finished their work. This year Bathsheba had ordered her maids to put a long table in the garden，with the top end of the table just inside the house. The farm workers took their seats，and she sat at the top of the table，so that she was with them，but a little apart. There was an empty place at the bottom of the table. At first she asked Gabriel to sit there，but just then Mr Boldwood arrived， apologizing for his lateness. ‘Gabriel，’said Bathsheba，‘will you move again please， and let Mr Boldwood sit there？’Gabriel moved away in silence to another seat. They all ate and drank，and celebrated¹ the end of the sheep－shearing by singing their favourite songs. Mr Boldwood seemed unusually cheerful，and at the end of the meal he left his seat and went to join Bathsheba at her end of the table，just inside the sitting-room² . It was growing dark，but Gabriel and the other men could not avoid noticing how Boldwood looked at her. It was clear that the middle－aged farmer was deeply in love.

After a while Bathsheba said goodnight to her farm workers，and closed the sitting－room door and windows. Now she and Boldwood were alone. Kneeling³ in front of her，he took her hands.

‘Tell me，tell me what you've decided！’he begged.  ‘I'll try to love you，’she answered in a trembling voice. ‘And if you think I'll make a good wife，I'll agree to marry you But，Mr Boldwood，any woman would hesitate before deciding on something as important as marriage. Could you wait a few weeks until I'm sure？’

‘I'll be away on business for five or six weeks anyway. Do you really think that by that time you will…’

‘I feel almost sure that when you come back，at harvest time，I'll be able to promise to marry you. But，remember，I can't promise yet. ’

‘I don't ask for anything more. I can wait. Goodnight， Miss Everdene！’And he left her.  Bathsheba now realized how thoughtlessly⁴ she had behaved towards him，and understood how deeply he loved her. She was very sorry for her mistake and was therefore punishing herself by agreeing to marry him.

That evening she went round the farm as usual，lighting her lamp whenever necessary，to check that all the animals were safe. On her way back，she was walking along the narrow public path which led to her house. It was very dark there， among the trees，and she was a little surprised to hear some footsteps⁵ coming towards her. It was unfortunate that she would meet the traveller at the darkest point of the path. As she was about to pass the dark shape，something seemed to attach her skirt to the ground，and she had to stop  ‘What's happened？Have I hurt you，friend？'a man asked.

‘No，’said Bathsheba，trying to pull her skirt away.

‘Ah！You're a lady！The spur⁶ on my boot has got tied up with your dress. Have you got a lamp？I'll light it for you. ’

The light from the lamp shone suddenly on a handsome young man in a bright red and gold army uniform. He looked admiringly at Bathsheba.

‘Thank you for letting me see such a beautiful face！’he said.

‘I didn't want to show it to you，’she said coldly， blushing⁷. ‘Please undo⁸ your spur quickly！’He bent⁹ down to pull rather lazily at his boots. ‘You are making it even worse，’she accused him angrily，‘to keep me here longer！’

‘Oh no，surely not，’smiled the soldier. ‘Don't be angry. I was doing it so that I could have the pleasure of apologizing to such a lovely woman. ’ Bathsheba had no idea what to say. She wondered whether to escape by pulling the material away，but did not want to tear her best dress.

‘I've seen many women in my life，’continued the young man，staring into her face，‘but I've never seen a woman as beautiful as you. I don't care if you're offended，that's the truth. ’

‘Who are you，then，if you don't care who you offend？’

‘People know me in Weatherbury. My name's Sergeant¹⁰ Troy. Ah，you see，your skirt's free now！I wish you and I    had been tied together for ever！’

She pulled her dress quickly away from his spurs，and ran up the path and into her house. The next day she discovered from Liddy that Sergeant Troy's supposed father was a doctor，but people said his real father was a nobleman. He had been brought up in Weatherbury，and was well known as a young soldier with a great interest in girls. Bathsheba could not remain angry for long with someone who admired her as much as he obviously¹¹ did. It was unfortunate that Boldwood，when courting her，had forgotten to tell her，even once，that she was beautiful.

Sergeant Troy was certainly an unusual man. He lived only in the present，caring nothing for the past or the future. Because he never expected anything，he was never disappoint－ed. To men he usually told the truth，but to women，never. He was intelligent and well－educated， and proud of his success with women.

A week or two after the sheep－shearing，Bathsheba was in the hayfields，where her workers were cutting the hay¹². She was surprised to see a bright red figure appear from behind a cart. Sergeant Troy had come to help on the farm. She blushed¹³ as the young soldier came to speak to her.

‘Miss Everdene！’he said. ‘I didn't realize it was the “Queen of Casterbridge market”I was speaking to the other night. I apologize for expressing my feelings so strongly to you 102 then. Of course，I'm not a stranger here. I often helped your uncle on the farm，and now I'm helping¹⁴ you. ’

‘I suppose I must thank you for that，’replied the Queen of Casterbridge market rather ungratefully.

‘You're cross because I was honest when I spoke¹⁵ to you that night. But I couldn't look at you，and say you aren't beautiful！’

‘You are pretending，Sergeant Troy！’said Bathsheba，laughing in spite¹⁶ of herself at his clever way of talking.

‘No，Miss Everdene，you must let me say how lovely you are！What's wrong with that？’

‘It's wrong because—it isn't true，’she said，hesitating.

‘But you know that everybody notices how beautiful you are，don't you？’

‘Well，no—that is，I've heard Liddy say they do，but…’She paused. She had never intended to become involved in this kind of conversation with the soldier，but somehow he had trapped her into replying. Thank you for helping the men with the hay， she continued. ‘But please don't speak to me again. ’

‘Oh Miss Bathsheba！That's too hard！I won't be here long. I'm going back to the army in a month. ’

‘But you don't really care about a word from me，do you？

‘I do，Miss Everdene. Perhaps you think it's foolish of me to want just a “good morning”，but you have never loved a beautiful woman like yourself，as I do. ’

‘But you only saw me the other night！I don't believe you could fall in love so fast. I won't listen to you any more. I wish I knew what time it was. I've spent too much time with you.

‘Haven't you got a watch，miss？I'll give you one，’and he handed her a heavy gold watch. ‘That watch belonged to a nobleman，my father，and is all the inheritance I have. ’

‘But Sergeant Troy，I can't take this！It's your father’s，and so valuable！’said Bathsheba，horrified.

‘I loved my father，true，but I love you more. ’The young man was not pretending now，as he looked at Bathsheba's beautiful，excited face.

‘Can it be true，that you love me？You have seen so little of me！Please take it back！’

‘Wll then，I'll take it，’he said，‘because it's all I have to prove that I come of good family. But will you speak to me while I'm in Weatherbury？Will you let me work in your fields？’

‘Yes！Or no，I don't know！Oh，why did you come and disturb me like this！’

‘Perhaps，in setting¹⁷ a trap，I've caught myself. Such things sometimes happen. Goodbye，Miss Everdene！’

Blushing and almost crying，Bathsheba hurried home，whis-pering to herself，‘Oh what have I done？What does it mean？I wish I knew how much of what he says is true！

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

3 kneeling   

v.跪( kneel的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Better die standing than live kneeling. 宁愿站着死，不愿跪着生。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He pulled her down so that they were kneeling face to face. 他拉她跪下来，他们脸对着脸。 来自英汉文学

4 thoughtlessly   

adv.草率地，不体贴地；混；等闲

参考例句：

• He treated his parents thoughtlessly. 他非常不关心他的父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The principle is repeatedly and thoughtlessly violated. 这条原则被一再无情地违犯着。 来自辞典例句

5 footsteps   

n.脚步（声），一步的距离，足迹；脚步（声）( footstep的名词复数 )；一步的距离；足迹

参考例句：

• the sound of footsteps on the stairs 楼梯上的脚步声
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。

6 spur   

n.刺激(物)，激励；vt.激励，鞭策，促进

参考例句：

• Even a small success would spur me on to greater effort.哪怕是微小的成功也会促使我做出更大的努力。
• Such stories serve as a spur to children's imagination.这类故事能激发儿童的想像力。

7 blushing   

adj．脸红的 动词blush的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Shame-faced and blushing, the women took their leave and rowed off again. 几个女人羞红着脸告辞出来，摇开靠在岸边上的小船。
• Jennie came forward,extending her hand and blushing. 珍妮走上前，伸出她的手，面色赤红。

8 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

9 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

10 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

11 obviously   

adv.显然；明白地

参考例句：

• Obviously they were putting him to a severe test.显然他们是在给他以严峻的考验。
• Obviously he was lying.显然他是在撒谎。

12 hay   

n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草

参考例句：

• Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
• They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。

13 Blushed   

n. 脸红，外观 vi. 泛红，羞愧

参考例句：

• She blushed at the mention of her lover's name. 她因说到她情人的名字而脸红。
• He blushed when the pretty girl gave him the eye. 那位漂亮的女孩向他抛媚眼时，他脸红了。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 spite   

n.（用于短语）虽然，不顾，尽管

参考例句：

• He has modern ideas in spite of his great age.尽管他年事很高，但思想观念却很入时。
• In spite of his anger,his remarks were restrained.他尽管生气，说的话还是有节制的。

17 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。