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

Account With The Man-Trap And The Scream; He Could Not Understand

What It All Meant; But The Sinister Event Of The Trap Made Him

Follow On.  Accordingly,  They Bore Away Towards The Town,  Shouting

As They Went,  And In due Course Emerged upon The Highway.

Nearing sherton-Abbas,  The Previous Information Was Confirmed by

Other Strollers,  Though The Gentleman'S Supporting arm Had

Disappeared from These Later Accounts.  At Last They Were So Near

Sherton That Melbury Informed his Faithful Followers That He Did

Not Wish To Drag Them Farther At So Late An Hour,  Since He Could

Go On Alone And Inquire If The Woman Who Had Been Seen Were Really

Grace.  But They Would Not Leave Him Alone In his Anxiety,  And

Trudged onward Till The Lamplight From The Town Began To

Illuminate Their Fronts.  At The Entrance To The High Street They

Got Fresh Scent Of The Pursued,  But Coupled with The New Condition

That The Lady In the Costume Described had Been Going up The

Street Alone.

"Faith!--I Believe She'S Mesmerized,  Or Walking in her Sleep,"

Said Melbury.

However,  The Identity Of This Woman With Grace Was By No Means

Certain; But They Plodded along The Street.  Percombe,  The Hair-

Dresser,  Who Had Despoiled marty Of Her Tresses,  Was Standing at

His Door,  And They Duly Put Inquiries To Him.

"Ah--How'S Little Hintock Folk By Now?" He Said,  Before Replying.

"Never Have I Been Over There Since One Winter Night Some Three

Year Ago--And Then I Lost Myself Finding it.  How Can Ye Live In

Such A One-Eyed place?  Great Hintock Is Bad Enough--Hut Little

Hintock--The Bats And Owls Would Drive Me Melancholy-Mad! It Took

Two Days To Raise My Sperrits To Their True Pitch Again After That

Night I Went There.  Mr. Melbury,  Sir,  As A Man'S That Put By

Money,  Why Not Retire And Live Here,  And See Something of The

World?"

The Responses At Last Given By Him To Their Queries Guided them To

The Building that Offered the Best Accommodation In sherton--

Having been Enlarged contemporaneously With The Construction Of

The Railway--Namely,  The Earl Of Wessex Hotel.

Leaving the Others Without,  Melbury Made Prompt Inquiry Here.  His

Alarm Was Lessened,  Though His Perplexity Was Increased,  When He

Received a Brief Reply That Such A Lady Was In the House.

"Do You Know If It Is My Daughter?" Asked melbury.

The Waiter Did Not.

"Do You Know The Lady'S Name?"

Of This,  Too,  The Household Was Ignorant,  The Hotel Having been

Taken By Brand-New People From A Distance.  They Knew The

Gentleman Very Well By Sight,  And Had Not Thought It Necessary To

Ask Him To Enter His Name.

"Oh,  The Gentleman Appears Again Now," Said Melbury To Himself.

"Well,  I Want To See The Lady," He Declared.

A Message Was Taken Up,  And After Some Delay The Shape Of Grace

Appeared descending round The Bend Of The Stair-Case,  Looking as

If She Lived there,  But In other Respects Rather Guilty And

Frightened.

"Why--What The Name--" Began Her Father.  "I Thought You Went Out

To Get Parsley!"

"Oh,  Yes--I Did--But It Is All Right," Said Grace,  In a Flurried

Whisper.  "I Am Not Alone Here.  I Am Here With Edgar.  It Is

Entirely Owing to An Accident,  Father."

"Edgar! An Accident! How Does He Come Here?  I Thought He Was Two

Hundred mile Off."

"Yes,  So He Is--I Mean He Has Got A Beautiful Practice Two Hundred

Miles Off; He Has Bought It With His Own Money,  Some That Came To

Him.  But He Travelled here,  And I Was Nearly Caught In a Man-

Trap,  And That'S How It Is I Am Here.  We Were Just Thinking of

Sending a Messenger To Let You Know."

Melbury Did Not Seem To Be Particularly Enlightened by This

Explanation.

"You Were Caught In a Man-Trap?"

"Yes; My Dress Was.  That'S How It Arose.  Edgar Is Up-Stairs In

His Own Sitting-Room," She Went On.  "He Would Not Mind Seeing

You,  I Am Sure."

"Oh,  Faith,  I Don'T Want To See Him! I Have Seen Him Too Often

A'Ready.  I'Ll See Him Another Time,  Perhaps,  If 'Tis To Oblige

'Ee."

"He Came To See Me; He Wanted to Consult Me About This Large

Partnership I Speak Of,  As It Is Very Promising."

"Oh,  I Am Glad To Hear It," Said Melbury,  Dryly.

A Pause Ensued,  During which The Inquiring faces And Whity-Brown

Clothes Of Melbury'S Companions Appeared in the Door-Way.

"Then Bain'T You Coming home With Us?" He Asked.

"I--I Think Not," Said Grace,  Blushing.

"H'M--Very Well--You Are Your Own Mistress," He Returned,  In tones

Which Seemed to Assert Otherwise.  "Good-Night;" And Melbury

Retreated towards The Door.

"Don'T Be Angry,  Father," She Said,  Following him A Few Steps.  "I

Have Done It For The Best."

"I Am Not Angry,  Though It Is True I Have Been A Little Misled in

This.  However,  Good-Night.  I Must Get Home Along."

He Left The Hotel,  Not Without Relief,  For To Be Under The Eyes Of

Strangers While He Conversed with His Lost Child Had Embarrassed

Him Much.  His Search-Party,  Too,  Had Looked awkward There,  Having

Rushed to The Task Of Investigation--Some In their Shirt Sleeves,

Others In their Leather Aprons,  And All Much Stained--Just As They

Had Come From Their Work Of Barking,  And Not In their Sherton

Marketing attire; While Creedle,  With His Ropes And Grapnels And

Air Of Impending tragedy,  Had Added melancholy To Gawkiness.

"Now,  Neighbors," Said Melbury,  On Joining them,  "As It Is Getting

Late,  We'Ll Leg It Home Again As Fast As We Can.  I Ought To Tell

You That There Has Been Some Mistake--Some Arrangement Entered

Into Between Mr. And Mrs. Fitzpiers Which I Didn'T Quite

Understand--An Important Practice In the Midland Counties Has Come

To Him,  Which Made It Necessary For Her To Join Him To-Night--So

She Says.  That'S All It Was--And I'M Sorry I Dragged you Out."

"Well," Said The Hollow-Turner,  "Here Be We Six Mile From Home,

And Night-Time,  And Not A Hoss Or Four-Footed creeping thing to

Our Name.  I Say,  We'Ll Have A Mossel And A Drop O' Summat To

Strengthen Our Nerves Afore We Vamp All The Way Back Again?  My

Throat'S As Dry As A Kex.  What D'Ye Say So'S?"

They All Concurred in the Need for This Course,  And Proceeded to

The Antique And Lampless Back Street,  In which The Red curtain Of

The Three Tuns Was The Only Radiant Object.  As Soon As They Had

Stumbled down Into The Room Melbury Ordered them To Be Served,

When They Made Themselves Comfortable By The Long Table,  And

Stretched out Their Legs Upon The Herring-Boned sand Of The Floor.

Melbury Himself,  Restless As Usual,  Walked to The Door While He

Waited for Them,  And Looked up And Down The Street.

"I'D Gie Her A Good Shaking if She Were My Maid; Pretending to Go

Out In the Garden,  And Leading folk A Twelve-Mile Traipse That

Have Got To Get Up At Five O'Clock To Morrow," Said A Bark-Ripper;

Who,  Not Working regularly For Melbury,  Could Afford To Indulge In

Strong Opinions.

"I Don'T Speak So Warm As That," Said The Hollow-Turner,  "But If

'Tis Right For Couples To Make A Country Talk About Their

Separating,  And Excite The Neighbors,  And Then Make Fools Of 'Em

Like This,  Why,  I Haven'T Stood Upon One Leg For Five-And-Twenty

Year."

All His Listeners Knew That When He Alluded to His Foot-Lathe In

These Enigmatic Terms,  The Speaker Meant To Be Impressive; And

Creedle Chimed in with,  "Ah,  Young Women Do Wax Wanton In these

Days! Why Couldn'T She Ha' Bode With Her Father,  And Been

Faithful?" Poor Creedle Was Thinking of His Old Employer.

"But This Deceiving of Folks Is Nothing unusual In matrimony,"

Said Farmer Bawtree.  "I Knowed a Man And Wife--Faith,  I Don'T

Mind Owning,  As There'S No Strangers Here,  That The Pair Were My

Own Relations--They'D Be At It That Hot One Hour That You'D Hear

The Poker And The Tongs And The Bellows And The Warming-Pan Flee

Across The House With The Movements Of Their Vengeance; And The

Next Hour You'D Hear 'Em Singing 'The Spotted cow' Together As

Peaceable As Two Holy Twins; Yes--And Very Good Voices They Had,

And Would Strike In like Professional Ballet-Singers To One

Another'S Support In the High Notes."

"And I Knowed a Woman,  And The Husband O' Her Went Away For Four-

And-Twenty Year," Said The Bark-Ripper.  "And One Night He Came

Home When She Was Sitting by The Fire,  And Thereupon He Sat Down

Himself On The Other Side Of The Chimney-Corner.  'Well,' Says

She,  'Have Ye Got Any News?'  'Don'T Know As I Have,' Says He;

'Have You?'  'No,' Says She,  'Except That My Daughter By My Second

Husband Was Married last Month,  Which Was A Year After I Was Made

A Widow By Him.'  'Oh! Anything else?' He Says.  'No,' Says She.

And There They Sat,  One On Each Side Of That Chimney-Corner,  And

Were Found By Their Neighbors Sound Asleep In their Chairs,  Not

Having known What To Talk About At All."

"Well,  I Don'T Care Who The Man Is," Said Creedle,  "They Required

A Good Deal To Talk About,  And That'S True.  It Won'T Be The Same

With These."

"No.  He Is Such A Projick,  You See.  And She Is A Wonderful

Scholar Too!"

"What Women Do Know Nowadays!" Observed the Hollow-Turner.  "You

Can'T Deceive 'Em As You Could In my Time."

"What They Knowed then Was Not Small," Said John Upjohn.  "Always

A Good Deal More Than The Men! Why,  When I Went Courting my Wife

That Is Now,  The Skilfulness That She Would Show In keeping me On

Her Pretty Side As She Walked was Beyond All Belief.  Perhaps

You'Ve Noticed that She'S Got A Pretty Side To Her Face As Well As

A Plain