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It's true． I have never loved you，and I never can．’She added sadly，‘Perhaps I should tell a lie and then I could lead a comfortable life．But I have enough honour not to tell that lie．If I loved you，I might have a very good reason to tell you so．But I don't．’
Alec sighed heavily，as if this scene were depressing him．
‘well，you're very sad，Tess，and you have no reason to be．You're still the prettiest girl for miles around． Will you come back with me？ Say you will！’
‘Never，never！I've made up my mind， and I won't come．’
‘Then goodbye！’and Alec jumped up into his carriage and drove off．
Tess did not watch him go，but continued her walk alone． It was still early in the day and the sun was not yet giving any warmth．Tess felt even sadder than the autumn sadness which surrounded her．
But soon a man came up behind her，a man with a pot of red paint in his hand．
‘Good morning，’he said， and offered to carry her basket．
‘You're up early on a Sunday，’he continued．
‘Yes，’said Tess．
‘A day of rest for most people， although I do more real work today than in the rest of the week put together．’
‘Do you？’
‘In the week I work for man，but on Sunday I work for God．That's better work，don't you think？ Wait a moment，I have something to do here．’He stopped at a gate， and in large red letters on the middle bar of the gate he painted some words from the Bible：
PUNISHMENT AWAITS YOU
In the soft air，against the gentle green of the trees and the peaceful fields， these great red words stared at Tess． They pointed a finger at her．This man was a stranger and could not know her story， but the words accused her．
‘Do you believe what you paint？’she asked in a low voice．
‘Do I believe those words？Do I believe I am alive！’
‘But，’she whispered，trembling，‘suppose you were forced to do wrong？’
He shook his head．‘I can't answer that question．I paint the words and leave others to think about them in their own hearts．’
‘I think they are horrible words！’cried Tess．‘I'll take my basket and go on now， and she walked away from him，her heart beating fast．‘I don't believe God said those things！’she thought，as she reached her village．
There was smoke coming from her father's chimney， but seeing the inside of the cottage made her heart ache．It was as poor as ever．Her mother jumped up，surprised to see her．
‘Well，my dear Tess！’she said，kissing her．‘How are you？ Have you come home to be married？’
‘No， not for that， mother．’
‘What，isn't your cousin going to marry you？’
‘He's not my cousin， and he's not going to marry me．’
Her mother looked at her closely．‘Come，you haven't told me everything．’
Then Tess went up to her mother，put her head on Joan's shoulder，and told her the whole story．
‘And you haven't persuaded him to marry you！’cried Joan． ‘What's the good of going there？ Why didn't you think of doing some good for your family instead of thinking only of yourself？’
Tess was confused． Alec had never mentioned marriage to her．But even if he had，she would never have accepted him， because she did not love him．This made her hate herself for what she had done．She would certainly never love him in the future． She did not quite hate him， but did not wish to marry him，even to remain respectable．
‘You ought to have been more careful if you didn't want to marry him！’
‘Oh mother！’cried the poor girl，her heart breaking．‘Why didn't you warn me about men？I was a child when I left home！I didn't know how dangerous they can be，and you didn't tell me！’
‘Well，we must make the best of it，’said her mother．‘It's only human nature， after all．’
That afternoon the little cottage was full of Tess's friends， girls who lived in the village and who had missed her while she had been away．They whispered to each other that Tess was sure to marry that handsome gentleman．Fortunately Tess did not hear them．She joined in their laughing and talking，and for a short time almost forgot her shame．
But the next day was Monday，the beginning of the working week， when there were no best clothes and no visitors．She awoke with the innocent children asleep around her，she who had lost her innocence． She looked into her future，and grew very depressed． She knew she had to travel on a long，stony road， without help or sympathy． She had nothing to look forward to，and she wanted to die．
In the next few weeks， however， she became more cheerful， and went to church one Sunday morning． She loved listening to the well－known tunes， and gave herself up to the beauty of the music．She wondered at the composer's power． From the grave he could make a girl like her， who had never known him，feel extremes of emotion． She sat in a quiet，dark corner listening to the service．But when the village people arrived at church they noticed her and started whispering to each other．She knew what they were saying and realized she could come to church no more．
So she spent almost all her time in her bedroom，which she shared with the children． From here she watched the wind， the snow，the rain，beautiful sunsets and full moons，one after another．People began to think she had gone away． She only went out after dark， to walk in the woods and the fields． She was not afraid of the dark or the shadows； it was people she was anxious to avoid． She was at home on the lonely hills， but she felt guilty surrounded by innocent nature． When it rained， she thought nature was crying at her weakness，and when the midnight wind blew she thought nature was angry with her．But she did not realize that although she had broken an accepted social rule， she had done nothing against nature． She was as innocent as the sleeping birds in the trees，or the small field animals in the hedges．
7
One day in August the sun was rising through the mist．In a yellow cornfield near Marlott village it shone on two large arms of painted wood．These，with two others below， formed the turning cross of the reaping－machine．It was ready for today's harvest． A group of men and a group of women came down the road at sunrise． As they walked along， their heads were in the sun while their feet were in the shadow of the hedge．They went into the field．
Soon there came a sound like the love－making of the grasshopper．The machine had begun， and three horses pulled it slowly along the field．Its arms turned，bright in the sunlight．Gradually the area of standing corn was reduced．So was the living space of the small field animals，who crowded together，not knowing that they could not escape the machine in the end．
The harvesters followed the machine， picking and tying up bundles of corn． The girls were perhaps more interesting to look at．They wore large cotton hats to keep off the sun， and gloves to protect their hands from the corn．The prettiest was the one in the pale pink jacket，who never looked around her as she worked．She moved forward， bending and tying like a machine．Occasionally she stood up to rest．Then her face could be seen：a lovely young face，with deep dark eyes and long heavy curling hair．Her cheeks were paler，her teeth more regular， and her red lips thinner than most country girls’．
It was Tess Durbeyfield， or d’Urberville， rather changed， living as a stranger in her home village．She had decided to do outdoor work and earn a little money in the harvest．
The work continued all morning，and Tess began to glance towards the hill． At eleven o’clock a group of children came over the hill． Tess blushed a little，but still did not pause in her work．The eldest child carried in her arms a baby in long clothes． Another brought some lunch． The harvesters stopped work，sat down and started to eat and drink．
Tess also sat down， some way from the others． She called the girl， her sister， and took the baby from her． Unfastening her dress， and still blushing， she began feeding her child． The men kindly turned away，some of them beginning to smoke． All the other women started to talk and rearrange