Editing Far from the Madding Crowd (section)

===Bathsheba's valentine to Boldwood===
Meanwhile, Bathsheba gains a new admirer. William Boldwood is a prosperous farmer of about 40, whose ardour Bathsheba unwittingly awakens when she playfully sends him a valentine sealed with red wax on which she has embossed the words "Marry me". Boldwood, not realising the valentine was a jest, becomes obsessed with her and soon proposes marriage assuming she wanted the same. Despite not loving him, she toys with the idea of accepting his offer; he is the most eligible bachelor in the district, wealthy and handsome. However, she avoids giving him a definite answer. When Gabriel rebukes her for her thoughtlessness regarding Boldwood, she dismisses him from his job.

When Bathsheba's sheep begin dying from [[ruminal tympany|bloat]], she discovers to her chagrin that Gabriel is the only man who knows how to cure them. Her pride delays the inevitable, but eventually she is forced to beg him for help. Afterward, she offers him back his job, and their friendship is restored.