Home Again: A Trickster
- At dusk, Gabriel Oak is leaning over Jan Coggan's gate and inspecting the farm before going home for the night.
- He overhears two women talking and knows that they are Bathsheba and Liddy. He is overjoyed to have Bathsheba back home, safe and sound.
- Just then, Boldwood walks past. Oak goes to bed while Boldwood carries on to Bathsheba's house.
- Liddy, though, tells Boldwood that Bathsheba can't see him at the moment.
- Boldwood leaves, but decides that he'll come back to see Bathsheba later. As he leaves, though, he sees Sergeant Troy leave the house, saying goodnight to the people inside.
- Boldwood walks up to Troy and confronts him. He accuses Troy of stealing his fianceé, and Troy argues back that there's no way the two of them were ever engaged.
- Boldwood tells Sergeant Troy that he belongs with Fanny, since he knows about their previous engagement. Troy also admits that he likes Fanny more than Bathsheba. What a scumbag!
- Boldwood offers to pay Troy a large sum of money if he'll stay away from Bathsheba and marry Fanny.
- Troy says "Okay," but also tell Boldwood to stick around. Boldwood does, and he overhears a conversation that makes it sound like Troy and Bathsheba have already been—gasp!—intimate.
- After Troy mocks him some more, Boldwood grabs him and tries to strangle him. But Troy tells Boldwood between gasps that the only way to save Bathsheba from being a ruined woman now is for him (Troy) to marry her.
- In other words, he's implying that the two of them have already had sex.
- Boldwood realizes that he now has no choice but to give up Bathsheba. Now, horror of horrors, the only way for him to save Bathsheba's honor is to convince Troy to marry Bathsheba instead of Fanny. And—get this—Troy still wants some money for marrying Bathsheba.
- With this all settled, Troy goes with Boldwood up to Bathsheba's house, peeks inside for a second, and hands Boldwood a newspaper. And inside the newspaper is an announcement of Troy's wedding with Bathsheba.
- The two of them are already married! Troy has just been messing with Boldwood this entire time.
- Boldwood walks away, totally crushed.