第24章

andIamnotatallafraidforher，aftersuchaproofasshehasgiventhatherfeelingsarenotstrong。“

Fannysupposedshemusthavebeenmistaken，andmeanttothinkdifferentlyinfuture；butwithallthatsubmissiontoEdmundcoulddo，andallthehelpofthecoincidinglooksandhintswhichsheoccasionallynoticedinsomeoftheothers，andwhichseemedtosaythatJuliawasMr。Crawford’schoice，sheknewnotalwayswhattothink。

Shewasprivy，oneevening，tothehopesofherauntNorrisonthesubject，aswellastoherfeelings，andthefeelingsofMrs。Rushworth，onapointofsomesimilarity，andcouldnothelpwonderingasshelistened；

andgladwouldshehavebeennottobeobligedtolisten，foritwaswhilealltheotheryoungpeopleweredancing，andshesitting，mostunwillingly，amongthechaperonsatthefire，longingforthere-entranceofhereldercousin，onwhomallherownhopesofapartnerthendepended。

ItwasFanny’sfirstball，thoughwithoutthepreparationorsplendourofmanyayounglady’sfirstball，beingthethoughtonlyoftheafternoon，builtonthelateacquisitionofaviolinplayerintheservants’hall，andthepossibilityofraisingfivecouplewiththehelpofMrs。GrantandanewintimatefriendofMr。Bertram’sjustarrivedonavisit。

Ithad，however，beenaveryhappyonetoFannythroughfourdances，andshewasquitegrievedtobelosingevenaquarterofanhour。Whilewaitingandwishing，lookingnowatthedancersandnowatthedoor，thisdialoguebetweenthetwoabove-mentionedladieswasforcedonher——

“Ithink，ma’am，“saidMrs。Norris，hereyesdirectedtowardsMr。RushworthandMaria，whowerepartnersforthesecondtime，“weshallseesomehappyfacesagainnow。“

“Yes，ma’am，indeed，“repliedtheother，withastatelysimper，“therewillbesomesatisfactioninlookingon_now_，andIthinkitwasratherapitytheyshouldhavebeenobligedtopart。Youngfolksintheirsituationshouldbeexcusedcomplyingwiththecommonforms。

Iwondermysondidnotproposeit。“

“Idaresayhedid，ma’am。Mr。Rushworthisneverremiss。

ButdearMariahassuchastrictsenseofpropriety，somuchofthattruedelicacywhichoneseldommeetswithnowadays，Mrs。Rushworth——thatwishofavoidingparticularity!

Dearma’am，onlylookatherfaceatthismoment；

howdifferentfromwhatitwasthetwolastdances!“

MissBertramdidindeedlookhappy，hereyesweresparklingwithpleasure，andshewasspeakingwithgreatanimation，forJuliaandherpartner，Mr。Crawford，wereclosetoher；theywereallinaclustertogether。

Howshehadlookedbefore，Fannycouldnotrecollect，forshehadbeendancingwithEdmundherself，andhadnotthoughtabouther。

Mrs。Norriscontinued，“Itisquitedelightful，ma’am，toseeyoungpeoplesoproperlyhappy，sowellsuited，andsomuchthething!IcannotbutthinkofdearSirThomas’sdelight。Andwhatdoyousay，ma’am，tothechanceofanothermatch？Mr。Rushworthhassetagoodexample，andsuchthingsareverycatching。“

Mrs。Rushworth，whosawnothingbutherson，wasquiteataloss。

“Thecoupleabove，ma’am。Doyouseen

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节