Finished: A Pair of Blue Eyes (Hard). Well, pooh...why did I get my hopes up that Thomas Hardy might write a happy ending for once?? So, the young and not very experienced Elfride and Stephen fall in love...but her father won't let them marry because he's beneath her socially. They decide to run off to get married, but she is too panicked at the last minute, so they take the train back home. Unfortunately, this means they've been out all night together without being married...gasp! No one knows this, however, but the two of them and an old crony who happens to hate Elfride because she turned down her son's advances once. Stephen departs for India to go make his fortune and come back and have Elfride's hand honestly. They pledge to wait for each other and consider themselves betrothed to each other. Stephen confides in his mentor, Harry, that he is in love with a girl and that she will wait for him. Harry, after several months of Stephen being gone, meets Elfride without knowing it's the same girl and falls in love with her!! Elfride's resolve starts to slip as she gets to know Harry more slowly than she did Stephen and she realizes she's in love with him. What to do, what to do? Elfride is all about doing the right thing and staying true to Stephen, even though her feelings have changed...when one day Harry and Elfride get trapped on a dangerous cliff overlooking the ocean and Harry nearly dies. The close call pushes them into each other's arms, figuratively speaking. Still without kissing Harry, Elfride decides to break it off with Stephen and become betrothed to Harry. She still has terrible guilt about the night she innocently spent out with Stephen when she ran off...especially when Harry finally kisses her, admits it's his first kiss, and assumes that it is her first kiss as well. She's terrified to tell him that she kissed Stephen and was betrothed to him before Harry. She thinks it will make Harry leave her. When Stephen comes home for a visit unexpectedly, he's heartbroken and stunned to be introduced to his friend's betrothed, Elfride! Harry still has no idea that this is the girl that was supposed to be waiting for Stephen. Stephen doesn't let on, and goes back to India heartbroken. He IS making loads of money, by the way. Finally, as we knew would happen, the mean lady tells Harry that Elfride has had a "lover" before him, and that she spent the night out with him. Harry is enraged and won't let Elfride properly explain...mostly because she still feels guilty and her explanation even makes things sound worse than they were. Harry tells her he can't possibly marry her and leaves her. Elfride is heartbroken. Fifteen months later, Harry and Stephen meet up and Stephen sees that Harry is not married to Elfride. Stephen finally confesses to Harry that Elfride was the girl he was betrothed to. Harry is shocked, and then hears the whole story of how they ran away but didn't get married. He sees now that Elfride was innocent and truly did nothing to besmirch her character. They both head immediately on a train to see Elfride, each thinking they'll have a second chance with her. In the meantime, Elfride, who you could see early in the story was admired by Lord Luxellian, who her father was the rector for, has married Lord Lexellian. He is a handsome, nice young father of two young girls. His own wife had died a year before. The girls have always loved Elfride, and she them. So, in the several months after Harry's departure, Lord Lexellian had wooed Elfride, and she accepted his proposal. Of course, Harry and Stephen don't know that. As they get off the train, they see a huge crowd and realize that a funeral hearse has come to carry a coffin. As they inquire who has died, they see Elfride's father and are told that it is "that man's daughter". They are both devastated. Sure enough...Elfride had been happy in her marriage to Lord Lexellian, but had died after having a miscarriage only a few days before. The End. ok, so honestly....could Thomas Hardy not have ended the story with just letting the two guys be bummed (especially Harry since he left her so coldly) that Elfride was happily married to someone else?? Did he have to kill her off? Sigh, oh well! It was still a pretty good book and I do like his writing. I don't know that I'll read any more of his books though...too sad.