Far From The Madding Crowd

As part of her reconciliation, Bathsheba grants Liddy a week’s vacation, and further promises to visit for a couple days to “honour” Liddy and her sister during the visit (241); this has the additional benefit of allowing her to avoid a personal reply from Boldwood. En route, however, she encounters Boldwood. He pleads with her once again, hoping that her answer may not be final. No matter what she tells him, he dismisses it and pleads by a slightly different route for her to change her mind.

Eventually, he confronts her about Troy, angry that Troy “stole” her in his absence (246). He claims to be the laughingstock of the town now and grows angry; Bathsheba is fearful but defiant. Boldwood threatens to punish Troy for stealing her. Boldwood angrily departs; Bathsheba grows concerned because she knows that, unbeknownst to anyone else, Troy had not returned to his barracks but would be returning to Weatherbury in just a few days.

Late at night, an unknown figure takes a horse from Bathsheba’s stables; Maryann overhears this, and once the thief has departed, runs to Jan Coggan’s to alert Jan and Gabriel. They listen for the horse, and in the quiet night, hear it near the Roma encampment in Weatherbury Bottom.