"True, comely enough. But unless I make a great mistake--" And he

negatived the remainder of the definition forthwith.

Clare had just returned from the stable-yard, and, confronting the

man on the threshold, heard the words, and saw the shrinking of

Tess. The insult to her stung him to the quick, and before he had

considered anything at all he struck the man on the chin with the

full force of his fist, sending him staggering backwards into the

passage. The man recovered himself, and seemed inclined to come on, and Clare,

stepping outside the door, put himself in a posture of defence. But

his opponent began to think better of the matter. He looked anew at

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Tess as he passed her, and said to Clare-

"I beg pardon, sir; 'twas a complete mistake. I thought she was

another woman, forty miles from here."

Clare, feeling then that he had been too hasty, and that he was,

moreover, to blame for leaving her standing in an inn-passage, did

what he usually did in such cases, gave the man five shillings to

plaster the blow; and thus they parted, bidding each other a pacific

good night. As soon as Clare had taken the reins from the ostler,

and the young couple had driven off, the two men went in the other

direction. "And was it a mistake?" said the second one.

"Not a bit of it. But I didn't want to hurt the gentleman's

feelings--not I." In the meantime the lovers were driving onward.

"Could we put off our wedding till a little later?" Tess asked in a

dry dull voice. "I mean if we wished?

"No, my love. Calm yourself. Do you mean that the fellow may have

time to summon me for assault?" he asked good-humouredly.

"No--I only meant--if it should have to be put off." What she meant was not very clear, and he directed her to dismiss

such fancies from her mind, which she obediently did as well as she

could. But she was grave, very grave, all the way home; till she

thought, "We shall go away, a very long distance, hundreds of miles

from these parts, and such as this can never happen again, and no

ghost of the past reach there."

They parted tenderly that night on the landing, and Clare ascended to

his attic. Tess sat up getting on with some little requisites, lest

the few remaining days should not afford sufficient time. While she

sat she heard a noise in Angel's room overhead, a sound of thumping

and struggling. Everybody else in the house was asleep, and in her

anxiety lest Clare should be ill she ran up and knocked at his door,

and asked him what was the matter.




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