CHAPTER NINETEEN

Soon the harvest came. Farfrae had done well that year and had bought up a lot of grain after the prices had fallen extremely low. He was gradually becoming wealthier and more popular with the people every day.

Henchard, on the other hand, began to feel that the whole world wanted to destroy him and his business. After selling the grain he had paid so much for, he began to notice a change in the weather. The skies were becoming grey and the air wet. Soon heavy drops of rain could be felt falling to the earth.

"Damn it! That old fortune-teller was right!" He thought to himself, "Why didn't I wait to sell? I might not have lost so much money!"

Then, one evening, there was an accident between two wagons in the empty marketplace, very near Lucetta's home. One of the wagons belonged to Farfrae and the other to Henchard. The wagons were being driven by employees of the two men. When Henchard arrived at the scene, he saw that his own wagon was on its side, as well as the horse that had been pulling it. The hay his workers had gathered from the field was all over the ground. He freed the horse and helped it back onto its feet and then began to yell at Farfrae's worker.

"What in the hell were you thinking? Look at what you've done!" he shouted.

But, just then, Elizabeth and Lucetta walked up to the men and interrupted Henchard's shouts with an explanation of what had happened, for they had seen the whole accident from beginning to end.

"It was your worker's fault, actually," Lucetta said to Henchard.

"It's true, father," Elizabeth added.

"Don't listen to them women, sir," said Henchard's worker, "Every one of them is in love with Farfrae. They'd rather hang all the other men in town than admit that Farfrae was wrong about something."

Henchard turned his eyes toward Lucetta and saw that she had disappeared back into her home. The words of his employee deeply upset him. He wanted to ask Lucetta about Farfrae, but she had run away and now he had this mess in the middle of the street to clean up.

He decided to leave the cleaning to his workers and to go to Lucetta anyway. However, after knocking at her door, a servant told him that she could not see him that evening, because she was preparing to go out later on.

"Plans? What kind of plans?" Henchard wondered to himself. He wanted to know so badly that he hid himself in a dark corner of the street, across from Lucetta's home, and waited. Around an hour later, Farfrae came whistling up to the front door and Lucetta almost immediately came out and joined him on the street.

Henchard followed them on their walk, filled with jealousy and anger. When the two lovers separated an hour later and Lucetta returned alone to her home, he, again, followed her. At her house, he did not bother to knock, but let himself in. He then walked upstairs to the second floor to try and find her. When he came into her bedroom, Lucetta nearly screamed at the sight of him.

"What are you doing?" she cried, "You have no right to just walk into my home like this!"

"Ah! But I do!" he answered, "You, however, haven't any right to treat me the way you have been. Do I have to remind you of how easy it would be for the people of Casterbridge to learn about your past?"

"Shut up!" she yelled, "I've lost interest in marrying you, because I realized that you don't love me. You offered marriage to me because you pitied me. You also felt sorry for me, because of my terrible reputation in Jersey."

"You knew that long before you came to Casterbridge. You came here to marry me. Once you got your aunt's money, you could've moved anywhere and married anybody!" There was a silence between them for a few moments. "Never mind. I know the man you wish to be with. I, however, won't let it happen! If you don't marry me, I'll tell the whole town about your life in Jersey!"

He then called out Elizabeth's name. Seconds later, she came into Lucetta's bedroom. "Father? What are you doing here at this late hour?"

"Just listen," he said and then turned back to Lucetta, who held her head in her hands. "Will you marry me, Lucetta?"

"Yes, fine, I will!" she forced herself to answer, "Just go away now, Michael!"

"But Lucetta, what are you saying?" Elizabeth asked, not believing what she was hearing. Then turning to her father, she said, "She doesn't want this, father. I'm sure of it. Don't make her do it!"

Henchard left the room without answering his daughter and returned to his home.

Elizabeth then sat next to Lucetta, who was crying into her hands. "Why have you agreed to this? Have you known my father for a long time? You called him Michael, as if you were old friends. I'll beg him to change his mind about this!"

"Please, don't do anything, Elizabeth," Lucetta said, putting her hand on her housemate's hand, "Just leave it alone."

(end of section)