第40章

“AndIlongedtodoit——buttherewassuchadeadsilence!

Andwhilemycousinsweresittingbywithoutspeakingaword，orseemingatallinterestedinthesubject，Ididnotlike——

IthoughtitwouldappearasifIwantedtosetmyselfoffattheirexpense，byshewingacuriosityandpleasureinhisinformationwhichhemustwishhisowndaughterstofeel。“

“MissCrawfordwasveryrightinwhatshesaidofyoutheotherday：thatyouseemedalmostasfearfulofnoticeandpraiseasotherwomenwereofneglect。WeweretalkingofyouattheParsonage，andthosewereherwords。

Shehasgreatdiscernment。Iknownobodywhodistinguishescharactersbetter。Forsoyoungawomanitisremarkable!

Shecertainlyunderstands_you_betterthanyouareunderstoodbythegreaterpartofthosewhohaveknownyousolong；andwithregardtosomeothers，Icanperceive，fromoccasionallivelyhints，theunguardedexpressionsofthemoment，thatshecoulddefine_many_asaccurately，didnotdelicacyforbidit。Iwonderwhatshethinksofmyfather!Shemustadmirehimasafine-lookingman，withmostgentlemanlike，dignified，consistentmanners；

butperhaps，havingseenhimsoseldom，hisreservemaybealittlerepulsive。Couldtheybemuchtogether，Ifeelsureoftheirlikingeachother。Hewouldenjoyherlivelinessandshehastalentstovaluehispowers。

Iwishtheymetmorefrequently!Ihopeshedoesnotsupposethereisanydislikeonhisside。“

“Shemustknowherselftoosecureoftheregardofalltherestofyou，“saidFanny，withhalfasigh，“tohaveanysuchapprehension。AndSirThomas’swishingjustatfirsttobeonlywithhisfamily，issoverynatural，thatshecanarguenothingfromthat。Afteralittlewhile，Idaresay，weshallbemeetingagaininthesamesortofway，allowingforthedifferenceofthetimeofyear。“

“ThisisthefirstOctoberthatshehaspassedinthecountrysinceherinfancy。IdonotcallTunbridgeorCheltenhamthecountry；andNovemberisastillmoreseriousmonth，andIcanseethatMrs。GrantisveryanxiousforhernotfindingMansfielddullaswintercomeson。“

Fannycouldhavesaidagreatdeal，butitwassafertosaynothing，andleaveuntouchedallMissCrawford’sresources——

heraccomplishments，herspirits，herimportance，herfriends，lestitshouldbetrayherintoanyobservationsseeminglyunhandsome。MissCrawford’skindopinionofherselfdeservedatleastagratefulforbearance，andshebegantotalkofsomethingelse。

“To-morrow，Ithink，myuncledinesatSotherton，andyouandMr。Bertramtoo。Weshallbequiteasmallpartyathome。

IhopemyunclemaycontinuetolikeMr。Rushworth。“

“Thatisimpossible，Fanny。Hemustlikehimlessafterto-morrow’svisit，forweshallbefivehoursinhiscompany。Ishoulddreadthestupidityoftheday，iftherewerenotamuchgreatereviltofollow——

theimpressionitmustleaveonSirThomas。Hecannotmuchlongerdeceivehimself。Iamsorryforthemall，andwouldgivesomethingthatRushworthandMariahadnevermet。“

Inthisquarter，indeed，disappointmentwasimpendingoverSirThomas。Notallhisgood-willforMr。Rushworth，notallMr。Rushworth’sdeferencefo

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