第83章

Fannywasdoublysilencedhere；thoughwhenthemomentwaspassed，couldregretthatshehadnotforcedherselfintotheacknowledgedcomprehensionofonehalfofhismeaning，andencouragedhimtosaysomethingmoreofhissisterandEdmund。Itwasasubjectwhichshemustlearntospeakof，andtheweaknessthatshrunkfromitwouldsoonbequiteunpardonable。

WhenMr。Priceandhisfriendhadseenallthattheywished，orhadtimefor，theotherswerereadytoreturn；

andinthecourseoftheirwalkback，Mr。Crawfordcontrivedaminute’sprivacyfortellingFannythathisonlybusinessinPortsmouthwastoseeher；thathewascomedownforacoupleofdaysonheraccount，andhersonly，andbecausehecouldnotendurealongertotalseparation。

Shewassorry，reallysorry；andyetinspiteofthisandthetwoorthreeotherthingswhichshewishedhehadnotsaid，shethoughthimaltogetherimprovedsinceshehadseenhim；

hewasmuchmoregentle，obliging，andattentivetootherpeople’sfeelingsthanhehadeverbeenatMansfield；

shehadneverseenhimsoagreeable——so_near_beingagreeable；

hisbehaviourtoherfathercouldnotoffend，andtherewassomethingparticularlykindandproperinthenoticehetookofSusan。Hewasdecidedlyimproved。Shewishedthenextdayover，shewishedhehadcomeonlyforoneday；

butitwasnotsoverybadasshewouldhaveexpected：

thepleasureoftalkingofMansfieldwassoverygreat!

Beforetheyparted，shehadtothankhimforanotherpleasure，andoneofnotrivialkind。Herfatheraskedhimtodothemthehonouroftakinghismuttonwiththem，andFannyhadtimeforonlyonethrillofhorror，beforehedeclaredhimselfpreventedbyapriorengagement。Hewasengagedtodinneralreadybothforthatdayandthenext；hehadmetwithsomeacquaintanceattheCrownwhowouldnotbedenied；

heshouldhavethehonour，however，ofwaitingonthemagainonthemorrow，etc。，andsotheyparted——Fannyinastateofactualfelicityfromescapingsohorribleanevil!

Tohavehadhimjointheirfamilydinner-party，andseealltheirdeficiencies，wouldhavebeendreadful!

Rebecca’scookeryandRebecca’swaiting，andBetsey’seatingattablewithoutrestraint，andpullingeverythingaboutasshechose，werewhatFannyherselfwasnotyetenoughinuredtoforheroftentomakeatolerablemeal。

_She_wasniceonlyfromnaturaldelicacy，but_he_hadbeenbroughtupinaschoolofluxuryandepicurism。

ThePriceswerejustsettingoffforchurchthenextdaywhenMr。Crawfordappearedagain。Hecame，nottostop，buttojointhem；hewasaskedtogowiththemtotheGarrisonchapel，whichwasexactlywhathehadintended，andtheyallwalkedthithertogether。

Thefamilywerenowseentoadvantage。Naturehadgiventhemnoinconsiderableshareofbeauty，andeverySundaydressedthemintheircleanestskinsandbestattire。

SundayalwaysbroughtthiscomforttoFanny，andonthisSundayshefeltitmorethanever。Herpoormothernowdidnotlooksoveryunworth

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