第44章

“Well，“saidSirThomas，asifwaitingmoretoaccomplishthesurprise。

“Edmundwantshertogo。ButhowcanIspareher？“

“Shewillbelate，“saidSirThomas，takingouthiswatch；

“butwhatisyourdifficulty？“

Edmundfoundhimselfobligedtospeakandfilluptheblanksinhismother’sstory。Hetoldthewhole；

andshehadonlytoadd，“Sostrange!forMrs。Grantneverusedtoaskher。“

“Butisitnotverynatural，“observedEdmund，“thatMrs。Grantshouldwishtoprocuresoagreeableavisitorforhersister？“

“Nothingcanbemorenatural，“saidSirThomas，afterashortdeliberation；“nor，weretherenosisterinthecase，couldanything，inmyopinion，bemorenatural。

Mrs。Grant’sshewingcivilitytoMissPrice，toLadyBertram’sniece，couldneverwantexplanation。TheonlysurpriseIcanfeelis，thatthisshouldbethe_first_

timeofitsbeingpaid。Fannywasperfectlyrightingivingonlyaconditionalanswer。Sheappearstofeelassheought。ButasIconcludethatshemustwishtogo，sinceallyoungpeopleliketobetogether，Icanseenoreasonwhysheshouldbedeniedtheindulgence。“

“ButcanIdowithouther，SirThomas？“

“IndeedIthinkyoumay。“

“Shealwaysmakestea，youknow，whenmysisterisnothere。“

“Yoursister，perhaps，maybeprevailedontospendthedaywithus，andIshallcertainlybeathome。“

“Verywell，then，Fannymaygo，Edmund。“

Thegoodnewssoonfollowedher。Edmundknockedatherdoorinhiswaytohisown。

“Well，Fanny，itisallhappilysettled，andwithoutthesmallesthesitationonyouruncle’sside。

Hehadbutoneopinion。Youaretogo。“

“Thankyou，Iam_so_glad，“wasFanny’sinstinctivereply；

thoughwhenshehadturnedfromhimandshutthedoor，shecouldnothelpfeeling，“AndyetwhyshouldIbeglad？

foramInotcertainofseeingorhearingsomethingtheretopainme？“

Inspiteofthisconviction，however，shewasglad。

Simpleassuchanengagementmightappearinothereyes，ithadnoveltyandimportanceinhers，forexceptingthedayatSotherton，shehadscarcelyeverdinedoutbefore；

andthoughnowgoingonlyhalfamile，andonlytothreepeople，stillitwasdiningout，andallthelittleinterestsofpreparationwereenjoymentsinthemselves。

Shehadneithersympathynorassistancefromthosewhooughttohaveenteredintoherfeelingsanddirectedhertaste；

forLadyBertramneverthoughtofbeingusefultoanybody，andMrs。Norris，whenshecameonthemorrow，inconsequenceofanearlycallandinvitationfromSirThomas，wasinaveryillhumour，andseemedintentonlyonlesseningherniece’spleasure，bothpresentandfuture，asmuchaspossible。

“Uponmyword，F

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