Isupposeyouhavehadaslittletovexyousinceyoucameintothishouseasanycreatureintheworld。“
“IhopeIamnotungrateful，aunt，“saidFannymodestly。
“No，mydear；Ihopenot。Ihavealwaysfoundyouaverygoodgirl。“
“AndamInevertolivehereagain？“
“Never，mydear；butyouaresureofacomfortablehome。
Itcanmakeverylittledifferencetoyou，whetheryouareinonehouseortheother。“
Fannylefttheroomwithaverysorrowfulheart；shecouldnotfeelthedifferencetobesosmall，shecouldnotthinkoflivingwithherauntwithanythinglikesatisfaction。
AssoonasshemetwithEdmundshetoldhimherdistress。
“Cousin，“saidshe，“somethingisgoingtohappenwhichI
donotlikeatall；andthoughyouhaveoftenpersuadedmeintobeingreconciledtothingsthatIdislikedatfirst，youwillnotbeabletodoitnow。IamgoingtoliveentirelywithmyauntNorris。“
“Indeed!“
“Yes；myauntBertramhasjusttoldmeso。Itisquitesettled。
IamtoleaveMansfieldPark，andgototheWhiteHouse，Isuppose，assoonassheisremovedthere。“
“Well，Fanny，andiftheplanwerenotunpleasanttoyou，Ishouldcallitanexcellentone。“
“Oh，cousin!“
“Ithaseverythingelseinitsfavour。Myauntisactinglikeasensiblewomaninwishingforyou。Sheischoosingafriendandcompanionexactlywheresheought，andIamgladherloveofmoneydoesnotinterfere。
Youwillbewhatyououghttobetoher。Ihopeitdoesnotdistressyouverymuch，Fanny？“
“Indeeditdoes：Icannotlikeit。Ilovethishouseandeverythinginit：Ishalllovenothingthere。
YouknowhowuncomfortableIfeelwithher。“
“Icansaynothingforhermannertoyouasachild；
butitwasthesamewithusall，ornearlyso。Sheneverknewhowtobepleasanttochildren。Butyouarenowofanagetobetreatedbetter；Ithinksheisbehavingbetteralready；andwhenyouareheronlycompanion，you_must_beimportanttoher。“
“Icanneverbeimportanttoanyone。“
“Whatistopreventyou？“
“Everything。Mysituation，myfoolishnessandawkwardness。“
“Astoyourfoolishnessandawkwardness，mydearFanny，believeme，youneverhaveashadowofeither，butinusingthewordssoimproperly。Thereisnoreasonintheworldwhyyoushouldnotbeimportantwhereyouareknown。
Youhavegoodsense，andasweettemper，andIamsureyouhaveagratefulheart，thatcouldneverreceivekindnesswithoutwishingtoreturnit。Idonotknowanybetterqualificationsforafriendandcompanion。“
“Youaretookind，“saidFanny，colouringatsuchpraise；
“howshallIeverthankyouasIought，forthinkingsowellofme。Oh!cousin，ifIamtogoaway，Ishallrememberyourgoodnesstothelastmomentofmylife。“
“Why，indeed，Fanny，IshouldhopetoberememberedatsuchadistanceastheWhiteHouse。Youspeakasifyouweregoingtwohundredmilesoffinsteadofonlyacrossthepark；butyouwillbelongtousalmostasmuchasever。
Thetwofamilieswillbemeetingeverydayintheyear。
Theonlydifferencewillbethat，livingwithyouraunt，youwillnecessarilybebroughtforwardasyououghttobe。
Heretherearetoomanywhomyoucanhidebehind；butwithheryouwillbeforcedtospeakforyourself。“
“Oh!Idonotsayso。“
“Imustsayit，andsayitwithpleasure。Mrs。Norrisismuchbetterfittedthanmymotherforhavingthechargeofyounow。Sheisofatempertodoagreatdealforanybodyshereallyinterestsherselfabout，andshewillforceyoutodojusticetoyournaturalpowers。“
Fannysighed，andsaid，“Icannotseethingsasyoudo；
butIoughttobelieveyoutoberightratherthanmyself，andIamverymuchobligedtoyoufortryingtoreconcilemetowhatmustbe。IfIcouldsupposemyauntreallytocareforme，itwouldbedelightfultofeelmyselfofconsequencetoanybody。_Here_，Iknow，Iamofnone，andyetIlovetheplacesowell。“
“Theplace，Fanny，iswhatyouwillnotquit，thoughyouquitthehouse。Youwillhaveasfreeacommandoftheparkandgardensasever。Even_your_constantlittleheartneednottakefrightatsuchanominalchange。
Youwillhavethesamewalkstofrequent，thesamelibrarytochoosefrom，thesamepeopletolookat，thesamehorsetoride。“
“Verytrue。Yes，dearoldgreypony!Ah!cousin，whenI
rememberhowmuchIusedtodreadriding，whatterrorsitgavemetohearittalkedofaslikelytodomegoodoh!howIhavetrembledatmyuncle’sopeninghislipsifhorsesweretalkedof，andthenthinkofthekindpainsyoutooktoreasonandpersuademeoutofmyfears，andconvincemethatIshouldlikeitafteralittlewhile，andfeelhowrightyouprovedtobe，Iaminclinedtohopeyoumayalwaysprophesyaswell。“
“AndIamquiteconvincedthatyourbeingwithMrs。Norriswillbeasgoodforyourmindasridinghasbeenforyourhealth，andasmuchforyourultimatehappinesstoo。“
Soendedtheirdiscourse，which，foranyveryappropriateserviceitcouldrenderFanny，mightaswellhavebeenspared，forMrs。Norrishadnotthesmallestintentionoftakingher。
Ithadneveroccurredtoher，onthepresentoccasion，butasathingtobecarefullyavoided。Topreventitsbeingexpected，shehadfixedonthesmallesthabitationwhichcouldrankasgenteelamongthebuildingsofMansfieldparish，theWhiteHousebeingonlyjustlargeenoughtoreceiveherselfandherservants，andallowaspareroomforafriend，ofwhichshemadeaveryparticularpoint。
ThespareroomsattheParsonagehadneverbeenwanted，buttheabsolutenecessityofaspareroomforafriendwasnowneverforgotten。Notallherprecautions，however，couldsaveherfrombeingsuspectedofsomethingbetter；
or，perhaps，herverydisplayoftheimportanceofaspareroommighthavemisledSirThomastosupposeitreallyintendedforFanny。LadyBertramsoonbroughtthemattertoacertaintybycarelesslyobservingtoMrs。Norris——
“Ithink，sister，weneednotkeepMissLeeanylonger，whenFannygoestolivewithyou。“
Mrs。Norrisalmoststarted。“Livewithme，dearLadyBertram!whatdoyoumean？“
“Isshenottolivewithyou？IthoughtyouhadsettleditwithSirThomas。“
“Me!never。IneverspokeasyllableaboutittoSirThomas，norhetome。Fannylivewithme!thelastthingintheworldformetothinkof，orforanybodytowishthatreallyknowsusboth。Goodheaven!whatcouldIdowithFanny？
Me!apoor，helpless，forlornwidow，unfitforanything，myspiritsquitebrokedown；whatcouldIdowithagirlathertimeoflife？Agirloffifteen!theveryageofallotherstoneedmostattentionandcare，andputthecheerfullestspiritstothetest!SureSirThomascouldnotseriouslyexpectsuchathing!SirThomasistoomuchmyfriend。Nobodythatwishesmewell，Iamsure，wouldproposeit。HowcameSirThomastospeaktoyouaboutit？“
“Indeed，Idonotknow。Isupposehethoughtitbest。“
“Butwhatdidhesay？Hecouldnotsayhe_wished_metotakeFanny。Iamsureinhishearthecouldnotwishmetodoit。“
“No；heonlysaidhethoughtitverylikely；andIthoughtsotoo。Weboththoughtitwouldbeacomforttoyou。
Butifyoudonotlikeit，thereisnomoretobesaid。
Sheisnoencumbrancehere。“
“Dearsister，ifyouconsidermyunhappystate，howcanshebeanycomforttome？HereamI，apoordesolatewidow，deprivedofthebestofhusbands，myhealthgoneinattendingandnursinghim，myspiritsstillworse，allmypeaceinthisworlddestroyed，withhardlyenoughtosupportmeintherankofagentlewoman，andenablemetolivesoasnottodisgracethememoryofthedeardeparted——
whatpossiblecomfortcouldIhaveintakingsuchachargeuponmeasFanny？IfIcouldwishitformyownsake，Iwouldnotdosounjustathingbythepoorgirl。
Sheisingoodhands，andsureofdoingwell。ImuststrugglethroughmysorrowsanddifficultiesasIcan。“
“Thenyouwillnotmindlivingbyyourselfquitealone？“
“LadyBertram，Idonotcomplain。IknowIcannotliveasIhavedone，butImustretrenchwhereIcan，andlearntobeabettermanager。I_have__been_
aliberalhousekeeperenough，butIshallnotbeashamedtopractiseeconomynow。Mysituationisasmuchalteredasmyincome。AgreatmanythingswereduefrompoorMr。Norris，asclergymanoftheparish，thatcannotbeexpectedfromme。Itisunknownhowmuchwasconsumedinourkitchenbyoddcomersandgoers。
AttheWhiteHouse，mattersmustbebetterlookedafter。
I_must_livewithinmyincome，orIshallbemiserable；
andIownitwouldgivemegreatsatisfactiontobeabletodorathermore，tolaybyalittleattheendoftheyear。“
“Idaresayyouwill。Youalwaysdo，don’tyou？“
“Myobject，LadyBertram，istobeofusetothosethatcomeafterme。Itisforyourchildren’sgoodthatI
wishtobericher。Ihavenobodyelsetocarefor，butIshouldbeverygladtothinkIcouldleavealittletrifleamongthemworththeirhaving。“
“Youareverygood，butdonottroubleyourselfaboutthem。
Theyaresureofbeingwellprovidedfor。SirThomaswilltakecareofthat。“
“Why，youknow，SirThomas’smeanswillberatherstraitenediftheAntiguaestateistomakesuchpoorreturns。“
“Oh!_that_willsoonbesettled。SirThomashasbeenwritingaboutit，Iknow。“