The Woodlanders Part 2 by Thomas Hardy (best romantic books to read txt) 📕

As Soon As He Was Out Of The Room She Went To A Corner And There

Sat And Writhed under An Emotion In which Hurt Pride And Vexation

Mingled with Better Sentiments.

Mrs. Charmond'S Mobile Spirit Was Subject To These Fierce Periods

Of Stress And Storm.  She Had Never So Clearly Perceived till Now

That Her Soul Was Being slowly Invaded by A Delirium Which Had

Brought About All This; That She Was Losing judgment And Dignity

Under It,  Becoming an Animated impulse Only,  A Passion Incarnate.

A Fascination Had Led her On; It Was As If She Had Been Seized by

A Hand Of Velvet; And This Was Where She Found Herself--

Overshadowed with Sudden Night,  As If A Tornado Had Passed by.

While She Sat,  Or Rather Crouched,  Unhinged by The Interview,

Lunch-Time Came,  And Then The Early Afternoon,  Almost Without Her

Consciousness.  Then "A Strange Gentleman Who Says It Is Not

Necessary To Give His Name," Was Suddenly Announced.

"I Cannot See Him,  Whoever He May Be.  I Am Not At Home To

Anybody."

She Heard No More Of Her Visitor; And Shortly After,  In an Attempt

To Recover Some Mental Serenity By Violent Physical Exercise,  She

Put On Her Hat And Cloak And Went Out-Of-Doors,  Taking a Path

Which Led her Up The Slopes To The Nearest Spur Of The Wood.  She

Disliked the Woods,  But They Had The Advantage Of Being a Place In

Which She Could Walk Comparatively Unobserved.

There Was Agitation To-Day In the Lives Of All Whom These Matters

Concerned.  It Was Not Till The Hintock Dinner-Time--One O'Clock--

That Grace Discovered her Father'S Absence From The House After A

Departure In the Morning under Somewhat Unusual Conditions.  By A

Little Reasoning and Inquiry She Was Able To Come To A Conclusion

On His Destination,  And To Divine His Errand.

Her Husband Was Absent,  And Her Father Did Not Return.  He Had,  In

Truth,  Gone On To Sherton After The Interview,  But This Grace Did

Not Know.  In an Indefinite Dread That Something serious Would

Arise Out Of Melbury'S Visit By Reason Of The Inequalities Of

Temper And Nervous Irritation To Which He Was Subject,  Something

Possibly That Would Bring her Much More Misery Than Accompanied

Her Present Negative State Of Mind,  She Left The House About Three

O'Clock,  And Took A Loitering walk In the Woodland Track By Which

She Imagined he Would Come Home.  This Track Under The Bare Trees

And Over The Cracking sticks,  Screened and Roofed in from The

Outer World Of Wind And Cloud By A Net-Work Of Boughs,  Led her

Slowly On Till In time She Had Left The Larger Trees Behind Her

And Swept Round Into The Coppice Where Winterborne And His Men

Were Clearing the Undergrowth.

Had Giles'S Attention Been Concentrated on His Hurdles He Would

Not Have Seen Her; But Ever Since Melbury'S Passage Across The

Opposite Glade In the Morning he Had Been As Uneasy And Unsettled

As Grace Herself; And Her Advent Now Was The One Appearance Which,

Since Her Father'S Avowal,  Could Arrest Him More Than Melbury'S

Return With His Tidings.  Fearing that Something might Be The

Matter,  He Hastened up To Her.

She Had Not Seen Her Old Lover For A Long Time,  And,  Too Conscious

Of The Late Pranks Of Her Heart,  She Could Not Behold Him Calmly.

"I Am Only Looking for My Father," She Said,  In an Unnecessarily

Apologetic Intonation.

"I Was Looking for Him Too," Said Giles.  "I Think He May Perhaps

Have Gone On Farther."

"Then You Knew He Was Going to The House,  Giles?" She Said,

Turning her Large Tender Eyes Anxiously Upon Him.  "Did He Tell

You What For?"

Winterborne Glanced doubtingly At Her,  And Then Softly Hinted that

Her Father Had Visited him The Evening before,  And That Their Old

Friendship Was Quite Restored,  On Which She Guessed the Rest.

"Oh,  I Am Glad,  Indeed,  That You Two Are Friends Again!" She

Cried.  And Then They Stood Facing each Other,  Fearing each Other,

Troubling each Other'S Souls.  Grace Experienced acute Misery At

The Sight Of These Wood-Cutting scenes,  Because She Had Estranged

Herself From Them,  Craving,  Even To Its Defects And

Inconveniences,  That Homely Sylvan Life Of Her Father Which In the

Best Probable Succession Of Events Would Shortly Be Denied her.

At A Little Distance,  On The Edge Of The Clearing,  Marty South Was

Shaping spar-Gads To Take Home For Manufacture During the

Evenings.  While Winterborne And Mrs. Fitzpiers Stood Looking at

Her In their Mutual Embarrassment At Each Other'S Presence,  They

Beheld Approaching the Girl A Lady In a Dark Fur Mantle And A

Black Hat,  Having a White Veil Tied picturesquely Round It.  She

Spoke To Marty,  Who Turned and Courtesied,  And The Lady Fell Into

Conversation With Her.  It Was Mrs. Charmond.

On Leaving her House,  Mrs. Charmond Had Walked on And Onward Under

The Fret And Fever Of Her Mind With More Vigor Than She Was

Accustomed to Show In her Normal Moods--A Fever Which The Solace

Of A Cigarette Did Not Entirely Allay.  Reaching the Coppice,  She

Listlessly Observed marty At Work,  Threw Away Her Cigarette,  And

Came Near.  Chop,  Chop,  Chop,  Went Marty'S Little Billhook With

Never More Assiduity,  Till Mrs. Charmond Spoke.

"Who Is That Young Lady I See Talking to The Woodman Yonder?" She

Asked.

"Mrs. Fitzpiers,  Ma'Am," Said Marty.

"Oh," Said Mrs. Charmond,  With Something like A Start; For She Had

Not Recognized grace At That Distance.  "And The Man She Is

Talking to?"

"That'S Mr. Winterborne."

A Redness Stole Into Marty'S Face As She Mentioned giles'S Name,

Which Mrs. Charmond Did Not Fail To Notice Informed her Of The

State Of The Girl'S Heart.  "Are You Engaged to Him?" She Asked,

Softly.

"No,  Ma'Am," Said Marty.  "She Was Once; And I Think--"

But Marty Could Not Possibly Explain The Complications Of Her

Thoughts On This Matter--Which Were Nothing less Than One Of

Extraordinary Acuteness For A Girl So Young And Inexperienced--

Namely,  That She Saw Danger To Two Hearts Naturally Honest In

Grace Being thrown Back Into Winterborne'S Society By The Neglect

Of Her Husband.  Mrs. Charmond,  However,  With The Almost

Supersensory Means To Knowledge Which Women Have On Such

Occasions,  Quite Understood What Marty Had Intended to Convey,  And

The Picture Thus Exhibited to Her Of Lives Drifting away,

Involving the Wreck Of Poor Marty'S Hopes,  Prompted her To More

Generous Resolves Than All Melbury'S Remonstrances Had Been Able

To Stimulate.

Full Of The New Feeling,  She Bade The Girl Good-Afternoon,  And

Went On Over The Stumps Of Hazel To Where Grace And Winterborne

Were Standing.  They Saw Her Approach,  And Winterborne Said,  "She

Is Coming to You; It Is A Good Omen.  She Dislikes Me,  So I'Ll Go

Away."  He Accordingly Retreated to Where He Had Been Working

Before Grace Came,  And Grace'S Formidable Rival Approached her,

Each Woman Taking the Other'S Measure As She Came Near.

"Dear--Mrs. Fitzpiers," Said Felice Charmond,  With Some Inward

Turmoil Which Stopped her Speech.  "I Have Not Seen You For A Long

Time."

She Held Out Her Hand Tentatively,  While Grace Stood Like A Wild

Animal On First Confronting a Mirror Or Other Puzzling product Of

Civilization.  Was It Really Mrs. Charmond Speaking to Her Thus?

If It Was,  She Could No Longer Form Any Guess As To What It

Signified.

"I Want To Talk With You," Said Mrs. Charmond,  Imploringly,  For

The Gaze Of The Young Woman Had Chilled her Through.  "Can You

Walk On With Me Till We Are Quite Alone?"

Sick With Distaste,  Grace Nevertheless Complied,  As By Clockwork

And They Moved evenly Side By Side Into The Deeper Recesses Of The

Woods.  They Went Farther,  Much Farther Than Mrs. Charmond Had

Meant To Go; But She Could Not Begin Her Conversation,  And In

Default Of It Kept Walking.

"I Have Seen Your Father," She At Length Resumed.  "And--I Am Much

Troubled by What He Told Me."

"What Did He Tell You? I Have Not Been Admitted to His Confidence

On Anything he May Have Said To You."

"Nevertheless,  Why Should I Repeat To You What You Can Easily

Divine?"

"True--True," Returned grace,  Mournfully.  "Why Should You Repeat

What We Both Know To Be In our Minds Already?"

"Mrs. Fitzpiers,  Your Husband--" The Moment That The Speaker'S

Tongue Touched the Dangerous Subject A Vivid Look Of Self-

Consciousness Flashed over Her,  In which Her Heart Revealed,  As By

A Lightning gleam,  What Filled it To Overflowing.  So Transitory

Was The Expression That None But A Sensitive Woman,  And She In

Grace'S Position,  Would Have Had The Power To Catch Its Meaning.

Upon Her The Phase Was Not Lost.

"Then You Do Love Him!" She Exclaimed,  In a Tone Of Much Surprise.

"What Do You Mean,  My Young Friend?"

"Why," Cried grace,  "I Thought Till Now That You Had Only Been

Cruelly Flirting with My Husband,  To Amuse Your Idle Moments--A

Rich Lady With A Poor Professional Gentleman Whom In her Heart She

Despised not Much Less Than Her Who Belongs To Him.  But I Guess

From Your Manner That You Love Him Desperately,  And I Don'T Hate

You As I Did Before."

"Yes,  Indeed," Continued mrs. Fitzpiers,  With A Trembling tongue,

"Since It Is Not Playing in your Case At All,  But Real.  Oh,  I Do

Pity You,  More Than I Despise You,  For You Will S-S-Suffer Most!"

Mrs. Charmond Was Now As Much Agitated as Grace.  "I Ought Not To

Allow Myself To Argue With You," She Exclaimed.  "I Demean Myself

By Doing it.  But I Liked you Once,  And For The Sake Of That Time

I Try To Tell You How Mistaken You Are!" Much Of Her Confusion

Resulted from Her Wonder And Alarm At Finding herself In a Sense

Dominated mentally And Emotionally