CHAPTER SEVEN

The following morning, as Elizabeth was opening her room's window, she saw Mr Farfrae leaving the hotel with his bags. Out on the street, Mr Henchard happened to be passing by and noticed the young Scotsman.

"Ah! So you really are leaving, then?" he asked.

"Yes, on my way just now, actually," Mr Farfrae replied.

"Well, then let me join you in your walk for a while," said Henchard getting into step next to the young man.

Elizabeth watched them until they were out of sight.

"You know, my hopes of meeting Mr Henchard are becoming greater now that I see how friendly he was to that foreigner," Mrs Newson said. It also helped that she had heard him say how terrible he still felt about something he had done many years before.

The two women talked more about this and then decided that Elizabeth would go to him with a note from Mrs Newson, explaining that she was in town. If he refused to see her, then they would bother him no more and go on with their life in another part of the country.

The town of Casterbridge was busy that morning. It was a market day and the streets were full of farmers and other people of the countryside, selling their goods. Although a town, Casterbridge was very much a part of the surrounding countryside. The townspeople and the people of the country depended on one another. Even at the parties of the town's highest society, farming was often the main topic of conversation.

Elizabeth found Mr Henchard's red brick home to be the nicest in town. Its doors were wide open in order to let fresh air in. After introducing herself to one of the servants, she was led to the Mayor's office behind the house. The back yard was full of granaries. Their doors seemed ready to burst open because they contained so much wheat.

When she entered the office, instead of Mr Henchard, she found Mr Farfrae standing inside.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked, as if it were his own office she had entered.

"I'm here to see Mr Henchard," she replied.

"Oh, well he's busy at the moment. Will you have a seat and wait a little while?"

Elizabeth was not aware, of course, of the agreement that Farfrae and Henchard had made only a few minutes before. Henchard had managed to convince the young Scotsman to stay and work with him as the manager of the corn factory. He had done nothing more than tell Farfrae that he truly liked him, and although he could find other people for the job, he felt that Farfrae was the best man for it. And that was all. The two men walked back to the Mayor's home and made up a contract while having breakfast.

Another door within the office then suddenly opened and Henchard entered. He asked Elizabeth to follow him. However, just as she was getting up, another man came walking into the room and directly approached Henchard.

"Sir, I am Mr Jopp. I've come to begin my new job as your manager," he said.

"I've already got one, thank you," answered Henchard coldly.

"But, sir, you promised me the job! It seemed final. You told me to come on Thursday or Saturday."

"Yes, and you made a mistake by choosing Saturday. You're too late. I've found someone else. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've someone waiting there."

The man walked angrily out of the room and Elizabeth then went inside.

"Hello, young lady. How can I help you?" Mr Henchard asked without much feeling.

"Sir, my name is Elizabeth-Jane and I've come to deliver a message. Mrs Susan Newson, who recently lost her sailor husband, is in Casterbridge and is wondering if you might be willing to meet with her."

The Mayor sat very still for a moment and then spoke. "She's ... living?"

"Yes, she is. I'm her daughter, Elizabeth-Jane Newson."

It hurt Henchard to hear his daughter use another man's name. It was obvious that the girl before him did not know that he was her real father. He was suddenly very grateful to his wife for having kept her relationship with him a secret. He asked his daughter to tell him where they had lived all these years. She told him about Canada and their return to England and her father's death at sea.

"Well, Elizabeth-Jane, do me a favor and tell your mother that I would very much like to see her." He then took out a pen and a piece of paper and began to write something down. Once finished, he folded the paper and put it in an envelope, along with five pounds and five shillings. "Please be sure to give this to her as soon as possible. I am very happy to have met you. I look forward to having a nice, long conversation with you someday soon."

Mrs Newson's face turned red with excitement when she saw that her daughter had a note to give her from Henchard. She opened it right away and read that he wished to see her that evening at the Budmouth Road Ring, around eight o'clock. He also asked that she wait to tell Elizabeth the truth about him.

(end of section)