Tess of the dUrbervilles - Page 230/283

"O no, no, Tess," he said blandly. "I can make full allowance for

this. Yet you most unjustly forget one thing, that I would have

married you if you had not put it out of my power to do so. Did I

not ask you flatly to be my wife--hey? Answer me."

"You did."

"And you cannot be. But remember one thing!" His voice hardened

as his temper got the better of him with the recollection of his

sincerity in asking her and her present ingratitude, and he stepped

across to her side and held her by the shoulders, so that she shook

under his grasp. "Remember, my lady, I was your master once! I will

be your master again. If you are any man's wife you are mine!"

The threshers now began to stir below. "So much for our quarrel," he said, letting her go. "Now I shall

leave you, and shall come again for your answer during the afternoon.

You don't know me yet! But I know you."

She had not spoken again, remaining as if stunned. D'Urberville

retreated over the sheaves, and descended the ladder, while the

workers below rose and stretched their arms, and shook down the beer

they had drunk. Then the threshing-machine started afresh; and amid

the renewed rustle of the straw Tess resumed her position by the

buzzing drum as one in a dream, untying sheaf after sheaf in endless

succession.

XLVIII

In the afternoon the farmer made it known that the rick was to be

finished that night, since there was a moon by which they could see

to work, and the man with the engine was engaged for another farm on

the morrow. Hence the twanging and humming and rustling proceeded

with even less intermission than usual.

It was not till "nammet"-time, about three o-clock, that Tess raised

her eyes and gave a momentary glance round. She felt but little

surprise at seeing that Alec d'Urberville had come back, and was

standing under the hedge by the gate. He had seen her lift her

eyes, and waved his hand urbanely to her, while he blew her a kiss.

It meant that their quarrel was over. Tess looked down again, and

carefully abstained from gazing in that direction. T

hus the afternoon dragged on. The wheat-rick shrank lower, and the

straw-rick grew higher, and the corn-sacks were carted away. At six

o'clock the wheat-rick was about shoulder-high from the ground. But

the unthreshed sheaves remaining untouched seemed countless still,

notwithstanding the enormous numbers that had been gulped down by

the insatiable swallower, fed by the man and Tess, through whose two

young hands the greater part of them had passed. And the immense

stack of straw where in the morning there had been nothing, appeared

as the faeces of the same buzzing red glutton. From the west sky

a wrathful shine--all that wild March could afford in the way of

sunset--had burst forth after the cloudy day, flooding the tired and

sticky faces of the threshers, and dyeing them with a coppery light,

as also the flapping garments of the women, which clung to them like

dull flames. A panting ache ran through the rick.