JudetheObscureChapter09I-ixItwassometwomonthslaterintheyear,andthepairhadmetconstantlyduringtheinterval。Arabellaseemeddissatisfied;shewasalwaysimagining,andwaiting,andwondering。
  OnedayshemettheitinerantVilbert。She,likeallthecottagersthereabout,knewthequackwell,andshebegantellinghimofherexperiences。
  Arabellahadbeengloomy,butbeforehelefthershehadgrownbrighter。
  ThateveningshekeptanappointmentwithJude,whoseemedsad。
  `Iamgoingaway,’hesaidtoher。`IthinkIoughttogo。Ithinkitwillbebetterbothforyouandforme。Iwishsomethingshadneverbegun!Iwasmuchtoblame,Iknow。Butitisnevertoolatetomend。’
  Arabellabegantocry。`Howdoyouknowitisnottoolate?’shesaid。`That’sallverywelltosay!Ihaven’ttoldyouyet!’andshelookedintohisfacewithstreamingeyes。
  `What?’heasked,turningpale。`Not……?’
  `Yes!AndwhatshallIdoifyoudesertme?’
  `Oh,Arabella-howcanyousaythat,mydear!YouknowIwouldn’tdesertyou!’
  `Wellthen——’
  `Ihavenexttonowagesasyet,youknow;orperhapsIshouldhavethoughtofthisbefore……But,ofcourseifthat’sthecase,wemustmarry!WhatotherthingdoyouthinkIcoulddreamofdoing?’
  `Ithought-Ithought,deary,perhapsyouwouldgoawayallthemoreforthat,andleavemetofaceitalone!’
  `Youknewbetter!OfcourseIneverdreamtsixmonthsago,oreventhree,ofmarrying。Itisacompletesmashingupofmyplans-ImeanmyplansbeforeIknewyou,mydear。Butwhatarethey,afterall!Dreamsaboutbooks,anddegrees,andimpossiblefellowships,andallthat。Certainlywe’llmarry:wemust!’
  Thatnighthewentoutalone,andwalkedinthedarkself-communing。
  Heknewwell,toowell,inthesecretcentreofhisbrain,thatArabellawasnotworthagreatdealasaspecimenofwomankind。Yet,suchbeingthecustomoftheruraldistrictsamonghonourableyoungmenwhohaddriftedsofarintointimacywithawomanasheunfortunatelyhaddone,hewasreadytoabidebywhathehadsaid,andtaketheconsequences。Forhisownsoothinghekeptupafactitiousbeliefinher。Hisideaofherwasthethingofmostconsequence,notArabellaherself,hesometimessaidlaconically。
  ThebannswereputinandpublishedtheverynextSunday。ThepeopleoftheparishallsaidwhatasimplefoolyoungFawleywas。Allhisreadinghadonlycometothis,thathewouldhavetosellhisbookstobuysaucepans。Thosewhoguessedtheprobablestateofaffairs,Arabella’sparentsbeingamongthem,declaredthatitwasthesortofconducttheywouldhaveexpectedofsuchanhonestyoungmanasJudeinreparationofthewronghehaddonehisinnocentsweetheart。Theparsonwhomarriedthemseemedtothinkitsatisfactorytoo。Andso,standingbeforetheaforesaidofficiator,thetwosworethatateveryothertimeoftheirlivestilldeathtookthem,theywouldassuredlybelieve,feel,anddesirepreciselyastheyhadbelieved,felt,anddesiredduringthefewprecedingweeks。
  Whatwasasremarkableastheundertakingitselfwasthefactthatnobodyseemedatallsurprisedatwhattheyswore。
  Fawley’sauntbeingabakershemadehimabride-cake,sayingbitterlythatitwasthelastthingshecoulddoforhim,poorsillyfellow;
  andthatitwouldhavebeenfarbetterif,insteadofhislivingtotroubleher,hehadgoneundergroundyearsbeforewithhisfatherandmother。OfthiscakeArabellatooksomeslices,wrappedthemupinwhitenote-paper,andsentthemtohercompanionsinthepork-dressingbusiness,AnnyandSarah,labellingeachpacket“Inremembranceofgoodadvice。“
  Theprospectsofthenewlymarriedcouplewerecertainlynotverybrillianteventothemostsanguinemind。He,astone-mason’sapprentice,nineteenyearsofage,wasworkingforhalfwagestillheshouldbeoutofhistime。
  Hiswifewasabsolutelyuselessinatown-lodging,whereheatfirsthadconsidereditwouldbenecessaryforthemtolive。ButtheurgentneedofaddingtoincomeineversolittleadegreecausedhimtotakealonelyroadsidecottagebetweentheBrownHouseandMarygreen,thathemighthavetheprofitsofavegetablegarden,andutilizeherpastexperiencesbylettingherkeepapig。Butitwasnotthesortoflifehehadbargainedfor,anditwasalongwaytowalktoandfromAlfredstoneveryday。Arabella,however,feltthatallthesemake-shiftsweretemporary;shehadgainedahusband;thatwasthething-ahusbandwithalotofearningpowerinhimforbuyingherfrocksandhatswhenheshouldbegintogetfrightenedabit,andsticktohistrade,andthrowasidethosestupidbooksforpracticalundertakings。
  Sotothecottagehetookherontheeveningofthemarriage,givinguphisoldroomathisaunt’s-wheresomuchofthehardlabouratGreekandLatinhadbeencarriedon。
  Alittlechilloverspreadhimatherfirstunrobing。Alongtailofhair,whichArabellaworetwistedupinanenormousknobatthebackofherhead,wasdeliberatelyunfastened,strokedout,andhunguponthelooking-glasswhichhehadboughther。
  `What-itwasn’tyourown?’hesaid,withasuddendistasteforher。
  `Ohno-itneverisnowadayswiththebetterclass。’
  `Nonsense!Perhapsnotintowns。Butinthecountryitissupposedtobedifferent。Besides,you’veenoughofyourown,surely?’
  `Yes,enoughascountrynotionsgo。Butintownthemenexpectmore,andwhenIwasbarmaidatAldbrickham——’
  `BarmaidatAldbrickham?’
  `Well,notexactlybarmaid-Iusedtodrawthedrinkatapublic-housethere-justforalittletime;thatwasall。Somepeopleputmeuptogettingthis,andIboughtitjustforafancy。ThemoreyouhavethebetterinAldbrickham,whichisafinertownthanallyourChristminsters。Everyladyofpositionwearsfalsehair-thebarber’sassistanttoldmeso。’
  Judethoughtwithafeelingofsicknessthatthoughthismightbetruetosomeextent,forallthatheknew,manyunsophisticatedgirlswouldanddidgototownsandremainthereforyearswithoutlosingtheirsimplicityoflifeandembellishments。Others,alas,hadaninstincttowardsartificialityintheirveryblood,andbecameadeptsincounterfeitingatthefirstglimpseofit。However,perhapstherewasnogreatsininawomanaddingtoherhair,andheresolvedtothinknomoreofit。
  Anew-madewifecanusuallymanagetoexciteinterestforafewweeks,eventhoughtheprospectsofthehouse-holdwaysandmeansarecloudy。
  Thereisacertainpiquancyabouthersituation,andhermannertoheracquaintanceatthesenseofit,whichcarriesoffthegloomoffacts,andrenderseventhehumblestbrideindependentawhileofthereal。Mrs。
  JudeFawleywaswalkinginthestreetsofAlfredstononemarket-daywiththisqualityinhercarriagewhenshemetAnnyherformerfriend,whomshehadnotseensincethewedding。
  Asusualtheylaughedbeforetalking;theworldseemedfunnytothemwithoutsayingit。
  `Soitturnedoutagoodplan,yousee!’remarkedthegirltothewife。`Iknewitwouldwithsuchashim。He’sadeargoodfellow,andyououghttobeproudofun。’
  `Iam,’saidMrs。Fawleyquietly。
  `Andwhendoyouexpect?’
  `Ssh!Notatall。’
  `What!’
  `Iwasmistaken。’
  `Oh,Arabella,Arabella;youbeadeepone!Mistaken!well,that’sclever-it’sarealstrokeofgenius!ItisathingIneverthoughto’,wi’allmyexperience!Ineverthoughtbeyondbringingabouttherealthing-notthatonecouldshamit!’
  `Don’tyoubetooquicktocrysham!’Twasn’tsham。Ididn’tknow。’
  `Myword-won’thebeinataking!He’llgiveitto’eeo’Saturdaynights!Whateveritwas,he’llsayitwasatrick-adoubleone,bytheLord!’
  `I’llowntothefirst,butnottothesecond……Pooh-hewon’tcare!He’llbegladIwaswronginwhatIsaid。He’llshakedown,bless’ee-menalwaysdo。Whatcan’emdootherwise?Marriedismarried。’
  NeverthelessitwaswithalittleuneasinessthatArabellaapproachedthetimewheninthenaturalcourseofthingsshewouldhavetorevealthatthealarmshehadraisedhadbeenwithoutfoundation。Theoccasionwasoneeveningatbedtime,andtheywereintheirchamberinthelonelycottagebythewaysidetowhichJudewalkedhomefromhisworkeveryday。
  Hehadworkedhardthewholetwelvehours,andhadretiredtorestbeforehiswife。Whenshecameintotheroomhewasbetweensleepingandwaking,andwasbarelyconsciousofherundressingbeforethelittlelooking-glassashelay。
  Oneactionofhers,however,broughthimtofullcognition。Herfacebeingreflectedtowardshimasshesat,hecouldperceivethatshewasamusingherselfbyartificiallyproducingineachcheekthedimplebeforealludedto,acuriousaccomplishmentofwhichshewasmistress,effectingitbyamomentarysuction。Itseemedtohimforthefirsttimethatthedimpleswerefaroftenerabsentfromherfaceduringhisintercoursewithhernowadaysthantheyhadbeenintheearlierweeksoftheiracquaintance。
  `Don’tdothat,Arabella!’hesaidsuddenly。`Thereisnoharminit,but-Idon’tliketoseeyou。’
  Sheturnedandlaughed。`Lord,Ididn’tknowyouwereawake!’
  shesaid。`Howcountrifiedyouare!That’snothing。’
  `Wheredidyoulearnit?’
  `NowherethatIknowof。TheyusedtostaywithoutanytroublewhenIwasatthepublic-house;butnowtheywon’t。Myfacewasfatterthen。’
  `Idon’tcareaboutdimples。Idon’tthinktheyimproveawoman-particularlyamarriedwoman,andoffull-sizedfigurelikeyou。’
  `Mostmenthinkotherwise。’
  `Idon’tcarewhatmostmenthink,iftheydo。Howdoyouknow?’
  `IusedtobetoldsowhenIwasservinginthetap-room。’
  `Ah-thatpublic-houseexperienceaccountsforyourknowingabouttheadulterationofthealewhenwewentandhadsomethatSundayevening。
  IthoughtwhenImarriedyouthatyouhadalwayslivedinyourfather’shouse。’
  `Yououghttohaveknownbetterthanthat,andseenIwasalittlemorefinishedthanIcouldhavebeenbystayingwhereIwasborn。Therewasnotmuchtodoathome,andIwaseatingmyheadoff,soIwentawayforthreemonths。’
  `You’llsoonhaveplentytodonow,dear,won’tyou?’
  `Howdoyoumean?’
  `Why,ofcourse-littlethingstomake。’
  `Oh。’
  `Whenwillitbe?Can’tyoutellmeexactly,insteadofinsuchgeneraltermsasyouhaveused?’
  `Tellyou?’
  `Yes-thedate。’
  `There’snothingtotell。Imadeamistake。’
  `What?’
  `Itwasamistake。’
  Hesatboltuprightinbedandlookedather。`Howcanthatbe?’
  `Womenfancywrongthingssometimes。’
  `But-!Why,ofcourse,sounpreparedasIwas,withoutastickoffurniture,andhardlyashilling,Ishouldn’thavehurriedonouraffair,andbroughtyoutoahalf-furnishedhutbeforeIwasready,ifithadnotbeenforthenewsyougaveme,whichmadeitnecessarytosaveyou,readyorno……GoodGod!’
  `Don’ttakeon,dear。What’sdonecan’tbeundone。’
  `Ihavenomoretosay!’
  Hegavetheanswersimply,andlaydown;andtherewassilencebetweenthem。
  WhenJudeawokethenextmorningheseemedtoseetheworldwithadifferenteye。Astothepointinquestionhewascompelledtoacceptherword;inthecircumstanceshecouldnothaveactedotherwisewhileordinarynotionsprevailed。Buthowcametheytoprevail?