باتشبا

CHAPTER TWO

Bathsheba

Oak learnt that the young woman’s name was Bathsheba Everdene. And he realized that he was in love. He thought about her all the time. He thought about her face, her hair, her soft hands. He said her name - ‘Bathsheba!’ - again and again.

‘I must marry her!’ he said to himself. ‘She must be my wife, or I’ll not be good for anything again!’

When Bathsheba no longer visited the cowshed, he went to her aunt’s house. He knocked at the door of the farmhouse and Mrs Hurst opened the door.

‘Mr Oak!’ she said.

‘Can I see Miss Everdene?’ said Oak. ‘I’ve brought a lamb for her to care for. Its mother died. Girls sometimes like to take care of a lamb.’

‘Well, I don’t know,’ said Mrs Hurst. ‘Bathsheba is only a visitor here. She won’t be staying long on my farm. And she’s not here at the moment. Do you want to wait for her?’

‘Yes, I’ll wait,’ said Oak and he sat in a chair. ‘The lamb isn’t the real reason I came here, Mrs Hurst. I want to ask Miss Everdene if she would like to be married. I would be very happy to marry her. Do you know if there are any other young men who want to marry her?’

‘Oh, yes!’ said Mrs Hurst. ‘It’s not surprising, because she’s so pretty and so clever. The young men never come here, of course. But there are ten or more young men who want to marry her.’

‘Oh, then I won’t wait,’ said Oak. ‘I’m only an ordinary man. My best chance” was to be the first man to propose to her.’

He was walking back across the fields, when he heard someone give a shout. He turned round and saw Bathsheba running after him.

‘Farmer Oak!’ she called. She stopped in front of him, breathing fast. ‘My aunt made a mistake,’ she said. ‘There aren’t any other young men who have proposed to me.’

‘Is this true?’ said Oak. ‘I’m very happy to hear that!’

He held out his hand, but she quickly put her own hand behind her back.

‘I have a nice little farmhouse and some good fields,’ he went on. ‘I haven’t paid for the farm yet. But when we’re married -‘

‘Farmer Oak,’ Bathsheba said, surprised. ‘I never said that I was going to marry you. I only wanted to tell you of my aunt’s mistake.’

Oak was disappointed. ‘Think about my proposal,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll wait, Miss Everdene. Please, Bathsheba. I love you more than my life!’

‘I’ll think about what you have said,’ she replied. ‘Give me time before I must answer.’

‘I can make you happy,’ he said. ‘In a year or two, I will have earned more money. You can have a piano, and a little carriage which you can drive to the market each week.’

‘I should like that,’ she said.

‘We’ll be comfortable and happy in our home. And I’ll be there, by the fire, whenever you look up. And whenever I look up, there you will be…’

Bathsheba was silent for a few minutes, and he watched her.

Then she said, ‘No, I don’t want to marry you, Farmer Oak. A wedding in a church would be nice, and people would say nice things about me. But a husband -‘

‘Yes?’ said Oak quickly.

‘A husband would always be there,’ she said. ‘If I could have a wedding without having a husband . . . but I can’t. So I won’t marry anyone, not yet.’

‘What a stupid thing to say!’ said Oak. ‘But my dear, why won’t you marry me?’

‘Because I don’t love you,’ she answered.

‘But I love you,’ said Oak. ‘And I will love you and want you, until I die!’

‘No, I’m sorry, Mr Oak,’ she said. ‘We couldn’t be happy as man and wife. I’m too independent. I need a husband who is a stronger character than me. And I live with my aunt and have no money. You need a woman with money. You need a rich wife who can buy more sheep for your farm and help it to grow.’

‘But-‘ began Oak.

‘No - no, I can’t marry you,’ said Bathsheba. Then she laughed. ‘I don’t love you. I would be stupid if I married you.’

Oak did not like people laughing at him. ‘Then I’ll not ask you again,’ he said quietly.

It is not easy to stop loving someone. And Oak soon found out that this was true.

A few days after Oak’s proposal, Bathsheba went to Weatherbury - which was more than twenty miles away. Had she gone to live in the town, or was she only visiting it? Oak did not know. But his love for Bathsheba grew stronger now that she was further away from him. And then something happened that changed his life.

One night, Oak came back to his house and called his two sheepdogs. But only the older dog came home. Oak did not worry about the younger dog.

‘He’ll come back soon,’ he thought. And he went to bed.

Very early the next morning, as the sky began to get light, Oak woke up suddenly. He had heard the sound of sheep’s bells ringing. The sheep were running on the hill and the bells around their necks were ringing loudly. Oak knew that something was wrong. He jumped from his bed and put on his clothes quickly. Then he ran out of the house, down the lane, and onto Norcombe Hill.

Oak had two hundred and fifty sheep. Fifty sheep and their young lambs were in one field. Two hundred pregnant sheep were in a second field. Their lambs were going to be born in a week or two. And these sheep had disappeared.

Oak began to call the sheep. Then he saw that the fence was broken. He ran through the hole in the fence and looked up to the top of the hill. His younger dog was standing there. Suddenly, Oak knew the terrible truth. The young dog had become excited and had chased the sheep.

Oak ran to the top of the hill and looked down. Below the other side of the hill, there was a deep chalk pit.

At the bottom of the pit lay his sheep - two hundred of them. And inside the dead or dying bodies of the sheep, were two hundred unborn lambs.

At first, Oak felt very sorry for the sheep and their lambs. But moments later, he realized that he had lost more than his sheep.

‘I’m ruined!’ he thought. ‘The sheep were not insured, and I have no more money. I cannot buy more sheep.’

The next day, Oak took his gun and shot the young dog.

A bank had given him money so that could buy the sheep. Now he had to sell everything so that he could repay the debt.

‘Thank God that I’m not married to Bathsheba,’ he thought. ‘I’ve lost everything. I have nothing but the clothes that I’m wearing.’