"How silly this all is！"said Izz impatiently． "He's a gentleman's son． He won't marry any of us or Tess either！"
They all sighed，and crept into their beds，and fell asleep． But Tess，with her deeper feelings，could not sleep． She knew Angel Clare preferred her to the others．She was more attractive，better educated and more womanly． She could keep his affection for her．But should she？ Perhaps the others should have a chance of attracting his attention，and even of marrying him． She had heard from Mrs Crick that Mr Clare had spoken of marrying a country girl to help him farm，milk cows and reap corn． Tess had promised herself she would never marry and would never be tempted to do so．She ought to leave the field open for the other girls．

“这一切都太可笑了！”伊茨忍不住说道，“他是个绅士的儿子，他是不会娶我们中间任何一个的，包括苔丝在内！”
一阵叹息之后，她们都爬上床，睡着了。但是苔丝，怀着更深的感情，却无法入睡了。 她知道，安吉尔・克莱尔喜欢她胜过其他姑娘。她更富有魅力，更有教养也更有女人味儿。 她可以让他继续对她怀有爱慕之情。但是，她应该吗？也许其他人也应该有机会吸引他的注意，甚至与他结婚。 她曾从克里克夫人那儿听说，克莱尔先生说起过要娶一个乡下姑娘帮他经营农场，挤牛奶、割庄稼什么的。 苔丝曾向自己保证过，永远不结婚，也永远不被人引诱结婚。她应该敞开这块天地，把机会留给别的姑娘们。