CHAPTER EIGHT

The Budmouth Ring was actually the name the town gave to an old Roman outdoor theater just outside of town. Although very romantic, it was hardly ever the meeting place for boyfriends and girlfriends. This was probably because of the violent past the theater was well known for. After all, it was once the place where gladiators killed one another for the amusement of the Roman people. In any case, it was seldom visited by the townspeople. And it was for that reason that Henchard decided to meet his wife there.

He was the first to arrive and he waited in the center of the theater. Soon, he could see the shape of a woman coming toward him from the entrance hall. Mrs Henchard walked directly up to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He put his arms around her and said, "I haven't touched alcohol since you left. Did you hear that, Susan?"

"I thought that you and Elizabeth-Jane had died at sea," he continued, "I thought that you would have tried to contact me if you were still alive."

"To be honest, I would never have come if Mr Newson hadn't died," she said, "I devoted myself to my new husband and hid the truth from our daughter, because I thought it would make my life easier."

"Yes, that's true. Elizabeth-Jane would never forgive either of us if she knew the truth. She must never find out. So, that's why I've come up with a plan for us. I want you to stay in Casterbridge, but you must keep your name as Mrs Newson. You'll move into a nice little home for a while. Then you and I will meet and begin to date each other. We'll fall in love and then marry. Elizabeth will then become my stepdaughter and we'll all live together once again. Now do you have enough money for the next few days?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Good. I'll be away for that long. When I return, we'll move you into a nice place until we can find a suitable home for you. You'll have to seem wealthy if our marriage is to be believed later on. Now go. I'll see you after I return."

And with that, the husband and wife separated once again, both quite happy with the plan that had been proposed.

When Henchard returned to his home, he found Mr Farfrae hard at work, looking over the company's financial records. They had been ignored for far too long and were in terrible condition. It would take the Scotsman a long time to put it all back into proper order.

"Now that's enough for today, Mr Farfrae. You and I shall now have dinner. Come!" ordered Mr Henchard as he took the book from his new employee's hands.

The Scotsman liked his new boss, even though he was quite a different kind of man from himself.

After dinner, the two men sat down together in front of the fireplace and had an evening chat.

"I know that it might not be proper, but I feel the need to talk with someone about my current situation. Would you mind hearing it?" asked Mr Henchard.

"Please, I hope that I can help you," Mr Farfrae politely replied.

Then the Mayor proceeded to tell the Scotsman about his shameful past and the surprising return of his wife and daughter. "I've every intention of remarrying Susan, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to hurt another woman. And I feel horrible about it."

"What do you mean?" asked the Scotsman.

Mr Henchard explained that he had met a woman on one of his business trips to Jersey a couple of years before. At one point he had fallen ill and the woman took care of him. Because of his illness they had to live together for several weeks. Naturally, they began to have stronger feelings for each other. Unfortunately, the town found out about their living together and the woman's reputation was completely destroyed. She was already quite poor, having no family or money. In order to save her, Mr Henchard asked her to marry him. However, now that his original wife had returned, he felt that he owed much more to her than he did the woman in Jersey.

"Would you mind writing a letter to her for me?" asked Mr Henchard, "I'll send a large amount of money with it, as well. I'm terrible with letters and I could really use your help."

"Of course I'll do it."

Mr Farfrae wrote the letter immediately and explained the situation as gently as possible. Mr Henchard then wrote a check and put it into the envelope with the letter.

"Thank you so much, Mr Farfrae," he said, "I really needed to talk with someone. As you can see, I'm not quite the man that everyone thinks I am."

"Yes and I pity your situation," answered the Scotsman.

After that, the two men parted and Henchard went right away to the post office to send the letter.

(end of section)