at she turned and walked away．Then she suddenly remembered that they must all be at church．So she waited in a quiet part of the street until people began to stream out of church．She immediately recognized Angel's brothers and even overheard some of their conversation．
‘Poor Angel！’one of them said．‘There's that nice girl，Mercy Chant．Why on earth didn't he marry her instead of rushing into marriage with a dairymaid？’
‘It's certainly very strange．But his ideas have always been most odd．’
They joined Mercy Chant as she came out of church，and walked together along the road Tess had walked into Emminster．
‘Look，here's a pair of old boots，’said one of the brothers，noticing Tess's boots behind the tree．
‘Excellent walking boots，I see，’said Miss Chant．‘How wicked to throw them away！Give them to me．I'll find a poor person who would like them．’
Tess walked quickly past them，tears running down her face．She continued walking as fast as she could away from Emminster．How unlucky that she had met the sons and not the father！Angel's parents would have taken poor lonely Tess to their hearts immediately，as they did every other lost soul，without thought of family or education or wealth．
She grew more and more tired and depressed as she walked the fifteen miles back to Flintcomb－Ash，where only hard work awaited her．But on the way she noticed a crowd listening to a preacher and she stopped for a while to join them．The preacher was describing with enthusiasm how he had been wicked for years and how a certain parson had pointed it out to him：this had gradually turned him from wickedness．But Tess was more shocked by the voice than the words．She moved round behind the crowd to look at his face．As the afternoon sun shone full on him， she recognized Alec d’Urberville．
A Changed Man
17
This was the first time she had seen or heard of d’Urberville since she had left Trantridge．And although he stood there openly as a preacher，as a religious man，she still felt afraid of him．He had changed his clothes，his hair，his moustache and his expression，but could she really believe that he had changed his most secret thoughts and beliefs？
As soon as she recovered from her surprise，she moved away so that he would not notice her．But he suddenly caught sight of her，and the effect on him was electric．His enthusiasm faded，his voice hesitated，his lips trembled，his eyes dropped in confusion．Tess walked rapidly away along the road．
However，as she walked she felt he must be looking at her back as she walked away．And now she knew she could never escape the past，as she had hoped．Reminders of her past would surround her until she died．As she walked uphill she heard footsteps behind her，and，turning，saw that it was the one person in the whole world she did not want to meet this side of the grave．
‘Tess！’he said．‘I'm Alec d’Urberville！’
‘I see you are，’she said coldly．They walked on together．
‘You may wonder why I'm following you．Well，I feel you are the person I would most like to save from hell．So I have come to do that．’
‘Have you saved yourself？’Tess asked bitterly．
‘God has done it all，not me！I must tell you how I came to believe in Him．Have you ever heard of the parson of Emminster，old Mr Clare？A very strict，sincere man．’
‘I have，’said Tess．
‘Well，he came to Trantridge once and tried to show me how wicked my life was．I insulted him at the time．But later my mother died，and somehow I began to think about what old Mr Clare said．Since then my one desire has been to help others to understand God too…’
‘Don't go on！’cried Tess．‘I can't believe in such a sudden change！I almost hate you for talking to me like this， when you know how you've ruined my life！You enjoy yourself for a while and then you make sure of your place in heaven！’As she spoke she looked him full in the face with her great beautiful eyes．
‘Don't look at me like that！’said Alec．‘Your eyes remind me of—well，women's faces have too much power over me．Don't look at me！It might be dangerous for you！’
Eventually they came to a crossroads，where a strange stone stood．It was a lonely，unfriendly place，where people did not like to stay for long．Alec stopped here．
‘I must go to the right here．I'm preaching at six this evening．Tell me，how has your life been since we last met？’
Tess told him about the baby．Alec was shocked．
‘You should have told me！But before we part，come，put your hand on this stone．It was once a holy cross．I'm afraid of your power over me．Swear on the cross that you will never tempt me into wickedness！’
‘Good God！How can you ask such an unnecessary thing！I don't want to see you ever again！’
‘No，but swear it．’
Tess placed her hand on the stone and swore．
‘I shall pray for you，’called Alec as he walked away．‘Who knows，we may meet again！’
Tess went on her way，feeling upset，and soon met a man on the road．He told her that the cross was not religious，but marked the place where a criminal was put to death and buried．Trembling a little at this information，she finally arrived at Flintcomb－Ash．
One day the following week when Tess was working in the fields as usual，Alec d’Urberville came to see her．He explained to her that he intended to sell his land at Trantridge and go to help poor people in Africa．
‘Will you help me put right the wicked thing I did to you？Will you be my wife？’
‘Oh no，sir！’she cried，horrified．
‘Why not？’Disappointment was visible in his face．It was not only duty which pushed him to make this offer，but also his old passion for her．
‘You know I don't love you，’answered Tess．‘In fact，I love somebody else．’
‘Perhaps that is only a passing feeling…’
‘No！’
‘Yes！Why not？You must tell me！’
‘Well，then… I have married him．’
‘Ah！’he cried and looked hard at her．
‘It's a secret here，’she begged．‘Please don't tell anybody．’
‘Who is he？’asked d’Urberville．‘Where is he？Why isn't he here to look after you？What sort of husband can he be，leaving you to work like this？’
‘Don't ask！’cried Tess，her eyes flashing．
‘Your eyes！’whispered Alec．‘I thought I no longer felt anything for you，but when I look into your eyes…’He took her hand．
She pulled it quickly away．
‘Go now，please，in the name of your new religion，go！Respect me and my husband！’
‘Don't worry，I can control myself．I just hoped that our marriage would take away the bad in both of us．But that plan is no good now．’He walked slowly away，his head bent in thought．
The farmer approached at that moment and was angry with Tess for wasting time talking to a stranger．Tess preferred hard words from this man of stone to sweet ones from Alec d’Urberville．For a moment，however，she imagined escaping from her present hard life by marrying Alec，but rejected it immediately．
At home that night she began a letter to Clare，telling him of her great love for him．Reading between the lines he would have seen her secret fear for the future．But ag