CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Lucetta, had gone to bed that night that Henchard paid her husband a visit. However, she had not fallen asleep. She could hear the sound of someone reading in the room below her. Because the reading continued for quite a long time, she finally decided to see who it was that had come. Obviously, it was something serious, for it was past her husband's usual bedtime.

As she quietly walked down the stairs, the reading voice became clearer. Soon she knew that it was Henchard reading her letters aloud. The fear inside of her had never been so great. She ran back up to her bedroom and waited to see what would happen.

Eventually, Henchard left and her husband's footsteps could be heard as he climbed the stairs to the second floor. When he entered the bedroom, he smiled at her and she immediately began to cry uncontrollably. Henchard had not told him. But why had he come over? What was he planning to do?

The next day, Lucetta sent a note to Henchard, asking him to meet her at the Roman Theater that evening after work. She had decided to beg him not to tell anyone about her past. She planned to throw herself at his feet and cry until he agreed. In order to make herself more pitiful, she wore her worst clothing and did not put on any make-up.

When, that evening, Henchard arrived at the theater, he was surprised to see a poorly dressed, untidy woman waiting for him. It reminded him of the time he had met his wife, Susan, in the same place. Immediately, his anger left him.

"Good evening," he said gently.

"Please, Michael," she began, "don't ruin my life like this! I'm begging you not to tell anyone!"

Henchard truly pitied her now. He no longer felt the same about her and Farfrae. In one moment, his whole view of the situation changed. She was nothing to him now, and he could not continue to torture her as he had been doing.

"Alright, I'll give you your letters tomorrow morning. Don't worry. Your secret will not be told. I promise."

And with that, the two former lovers separated: the one going to work, and the other to her home.

(end of section)