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

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!"

"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

Been 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

More 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