苔斯-第18节
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en he had gone，for the first time a feeling of anger rose in her against her husband．She had never intended to do wrong and he had punished her too hard！She passionately wrote these few words to him：
Oh why have you treated me so badly，Angel？I do not deserve it．You are cruel！I intend to forget you．You have been so unfair to me！
T
She ran out and posted it before she could change her mind．
‘I see there's been a visitor，’said her mother，coming into the living room later．‘Your husband， was it？’
‘No，it wasn't him．He'll never，never come，’said Tess hopelessly．She had said it was not her husband，but she was feeling more and more that d’Urberville was physically her husband．
Next day their possessions were put on a waggon and taken to Kingsbere．Mrs Durbeyfield had booked rooms there，as it was the family home of the d’Urbervilles，and she still hoped some good would come of belonging to the ancient family．But as they approached Kingsbere after a long and tiring day's journey，a man came to tell them there were no rooms available．Tess and her mother unloaded the waggon，and left the children and furniture near the churchyard wall，while they looked for somewhere to stay．But all the rooms were full．
Tess looked desperately at the pile of their possessions． In the cold sunlight of this spring evening the furniture looked old and the pots looked worn．
‘Tombs belong to families for ever，don't they？’asked her mother brightly，having looked round the churchyard．‘Well，that's where we'll stay，children，until the place of your ancestors finds us some shelter！’
Tess helped her mother move the big bed against the church wall．Underground were the tombs of the d’Urbervilles，and at the head of the bed was a beautiful old window，in which the symbols on the Durbeyfield seal and spoon could be seen．The children were put to bed all together for warmth and comfort．
‘Tomorrow we'll find somewhere better！’said Joan cheerfully．‘But Tess，what's the good of you playing at marrying gentlemen， if it leaves us like this！’
Tess went inside the ancient church and stared sadly at the tombs of her ancestors．She thought she saw a movement and turned to look again at a stone figure lying on a tomb．When she saw it was Alec d’Urberville lying there，she almost fainted．
‘I'm going to help you，’he said，jumping up and smiling at her．‘You'll see that I'm more useful than a real d’Urberville．I'll see your mother．You'll thank me for this！’As he brushed past her，she dropped her head on to the cold stone of the tomb．
‘Why am I on the wrong side of this stone？’she whispered．
Marian and Izz had seen Tess moving house with her family，and knew what a difficult position she was in．They generously hoped she would one day be happy with Angel again，and were afraid for her，knowing that Alec d’Urberville was constantly tempting her．They decided to write a letter to Angel Clare，to inform him of the dangerous situation his wife was in．This is what they wrote：
Dear Sir，
Watch out for your wife if you love her as much as she loves you．She is in danger from an enemy in the shape of a friend．A woman's strength cannot last for ever，and water，if it drops continually，will wear away a stone—yes，even a diamond．
From two well－wishers
The End
19
It was evening in the parson's house at Emminster．Mr and Mrs Clare were waiting anxiously for Angel's return．
‘He won't be here yet，my dear，’said old Mr Clare，as his wife went to the front door for the tenth time．‘Remember his train doesn't come in till six o'clock，and then he has to ride ten miles on our old horse．’
‘But he used to do it in an hour，’said his wife impatiently．Both knew it was useless to talk about it，and the only thing to do was wait．
When they heard footsteps they rushed outside to meet the shape in the darkness．
‘Oh my boy，my boy，home at last！’cried Mrs Clare，who at that moment cared no more for Angel's lack of religion than for the dust on his clothes．What woman，in fact，however firm her beliefs，would not sacrifice her religion for her children？Nothing was more important to Mrs Clare than Angel's happiness．
But as soon as they reached the living room，she saw his face clearly in the light of the candles．She gave a cry and turned away in sorrow．‘Oh，it's not the Angel who went away！’
Even his father was shocked to see the change in his son．They would not have recognized him if they had passed him in the street．The cruel climate and hard work had aged him by twenty years．He was like a shadow，thin and bony，with no spring in his step and no enthusiasm in his eyes．
‘I was ill over there，’he said，noticing his parents concern．He had to sit down，being weak after his journey．
‘Has any letter come for me？’he asked eagerly．‘The last one…’
‘From your wife？’
‘Yes．I didn't get it until very recently，as I was travelling．If I had received it earlier，I would have come sooner．’
They gave him a letter that had been waiting for his arrival．Angel read it rapidly．It was Tess's last letter，short and desperate：
Oh why have you treated me so badly，Angel？I do not deserve it．You are cruel！ I intend to forget you．You have been so unfair to me！
T
‘It is all quite true！’cried Angel hopelessly，throwing down the letter．‘Perhaps she will never take me back！’
‘Angel，don't worry so much about a country girl，’said his mother，anxious about her son's state of mind．
‘You know，I've never told you，but she is actually a descendant of one of the oldest，noblest families in England，a d'Urberville in fact．And do you know why I left her？How could I be so narrow－minded！I left her because I discovered she was not the pure country girl I thought．She had been seduced by a so－called gentleman．But it wasn't her fault．And I Know now that her whole character is honest and faithful．I must get her back！’
After this outburst Angel went to bed early and thought about the situation．In Brazil it had seemed easy to rush straight back into Tess's loving arms whenever he chose to forgive her．However，now he knew she was angry with him for leaving her for so long．He admitted she was right to be angry．So he decided to give her time to think about their relationship，and wrote to her，at Marlott，instead of going to see her．To his surprise he received in reply a note from her mother．
Dear Sir，
My daughter is not with me at the moment and I don't know when she'll come back．I will let you know when she does．I cannot tell you where she is staying．We don't live in Marlott any more．
Yours
J．Durbeyfield
At first Clare decided to wait for further information from Tess's mother，but then he re－read the letter sent on to him in Brazil，written from Flintcomb－Ash：I live only for you．Don't think I shall be bitter because you left me．I am so lonely without you，my darling！
Haven't you ever felt one little bit of your love for me at the dairy？I am the same woman you fell in love with then，the very same．As soon as I met you，the past was dead for me…
He was so touched he felt he must go immediately to find her，however angry she and her family might be with him．While he was packing，the letter from Izz and Marian arrived，and made him hurry even more．
His search for Tess took him first to Flintcomb－Ash，where he discovered she had never used her married name．He began to realize，too，what hardship she had suffered rather than ask his family for money．Next he travelled to Marlott，but found the Durbeyfield cottage occupied by others．As he left the village he passed the field where he had first seen Tess at the dance．He could not bear to see it，because Tess was not there．In the churchyard he saw a new headstone，on which was written：
In memory of John Durbeyfield，rightly d'Urberville，of the once powerful family of that name，and direct descendant of Sir Pagan d'Urberville．Died March 10th，18－
A gravedigger noticed Clare looking at it，and called to him，‘Ah sir，that man didn't want to be buried here，but in his ancestors'tombs at Kingsbere．’
‘So why wasn't he buried there？’
‘No money．In fact，sir，even this headstone has not been paid for．’
Clare went immediately to pay the bill for the stone，and set out towards Shaston，where he found Mrs Durbeyfield and her children living in a small house．She seemed embarrassed to see him．
‘I'm Tess's husband，’he said awkwardly．‘I want to see her at once．You were going to write and tell me where she is．Is she well？’
‘I don't know，sir，but you ought to．’
‘You're right．I ought to know that about my own wife．Where is she？’
Mrs Durbeyfield would not reply．
‘Do you think Tess would want me to try and find her？’
‘I don't think she would．’
He was turning away，and then he thought of Tess's letter：If you would come，I could die in your arms！I live only for you…I am so lonely without you，my darling！He turned back．
‘I'm sure she would！’he said passionately．‘I know her better than you do！’
‘I expect you do�
