shewasperhapsasmuchatpeaceasany。
Therewasagreatdealofneedleworktobedone，moreover，inwhichherhelpwaswanted；andthatMrs。Norristhoughtherquiteaswelloffastherest，wasevidentbythemannerinwhichsheclaimedit——“Come，Fanny，“
shecried，“thesearefinetimesforyou，butyoumustnotbealwayswalkingfromoneroomtotheother，anddoingthelookings-onatyourease，inthisway；
Iwantyouhere。IhavebeenslavingmyselftillI
canhardlystand，tocontriveMr。Rushworth’scloakwithoutsendingforanymoresatin；andnowIthinkyoumaygivemeyourhelpinputtingittogether。
Therearebutthreeseams；youmaydotheminatrice。
ItwouldbeluckyformeifIhadnothingbuttheexecutiveparttodo。_You_arebestoff，Icantellyou：
butifnobodydidmorethan_you_，weshouldnotgetonveryfast“
Fannytooktheworkveryquietly，withoutattemptinganydefence；butherkinderauntBertramobservedonherbehalf——
“Onecannotwonder，sister，thatFanny_should_bedelighted：
itisallnewtoher，youknow；youandIusedtobeveryfondofaplayourselves，andsoamIstill；
andassoonasIamalittlemoreatleisure，_I_meantolookinattheirrehearsalstoo。Whatistheplayabout，Fanny？youhavenevertoldme。“
“Oh!sister，praydonotaskhernow；forFannyisnotoneofthosewhocantalkandworkatthesametime。
ItisaboutLovers’Vows。“
“Ibelieve，“saidFannytoherauntBertram，“therewillbethreeactsrehearsedto-morrowevening，andthatwillgiveyouanopportunityofseeingalltheactorsatonce。“
“Youhadbetterstaytillthecurtainishung，“interposedMrs。Norris；“thecurtainwillbehunginadayortwo——
thereisverylittlesenseinaplaywithoutacurtain——
andIammuchmistakenifyoudonotfinditdrawupintoveryhandsomefestoons。“
LadyBertramseemedquiteresignedtowaiting。Fannydidnotshareheraunt’scomposure：shethoughtofthemorrowagreatdeal，forifthethreeactswererehearsed，EdmundandMissCrawfordwouldthenbeactingtogetherforthefirsttime；thethirdactwouldbringascenebetweenthemwhichinterestedhermostparticularly，andwhichshewaslonginganddreadingtoseehowtheywouldperform。Thewholesubjectofitwaslove——
amarriageoflovewastobedescribedbythegentleman，andverylittleshortofadeclarationoflovebemadebythelady。
Shehadreadandreadthesceneagainwithmanypainful，manywonderingemotions，andlookedforwardtotheirrepresentationofitasacircumstancealmosttoointeresting。
Shedidnot_believe_theyhadyetrehearsedit，eveninprivate。
Themorrowcame，theplanfortheeveningcontinued，andFanny’sconsiderationofitdidnotbecomelessagitated。
Sheworkedverydiligentlyunderheraunt’sdirections，butherdiligenceandhersilenceconcealedaveryabsent，anxiousmind；andaboutnoonshemadeherescapewithherworktotheEastroom，thatshemighthavenoconcerninanother，and，asshedeemedit，mostunnecessaryrehearsalofthefirstact，whichHenryCrawfordwasjustproposing，desirousatonceofhavinghertimetoherself，andofavoidingthesightofMr。Rushworth。
Aglimpse，asshepassedthroughthehall，ofthetwoladieswalkingupfromtheParsonagemadenochangeinherwishofretreat，andsheworkedandmeditatedintheEastroom，undisturbed，foraquarterofanhour，whenagentletapatthedoorwasfollowedbytheentranceofMissCrawford。
“AmIright？Yes；thisistheEastroom。MydearMissPrice，Ibegyourpardon，butIhavemademywaytoyouonpurposetoentreatyourhelp。“
Fanny，quitesurprised，endeavouredtoshewherselfmistressoftheroombyhercivilities，andlookedatthebrightbarsofheremptygratewithconcern。
“Thankyou；Iamquitewarm，verywarm。Allowmetostayherealittlewhile，anddohavethegoodnesstohearmemythirdact。Ihavebroughtmybook，andifyouwouldbutrehearseitwithme，Ishouldbe_so_obliged!
Icamehereto-dayintendingtorehearseitwithEdmund——
byourselves——againsttheevening，butheisnotintheway；
andifhe_were_，IdonotthinkIcouldgothroughitwith_him_，tillIhavehardenedmyselfalittle；
forreallythereisaspeechortwo。Youwillbesogood，won’tyou？“
Fannywasmostcivilinherassurances，thoughshecouldnotgivetheminaverysteadyvoice。
“HaveyoueverhappenedtolookatthepartImean？“
continuedMissCrawford，openingherbook。“Hereitis。
Ididnotthinkmuchofitatfirst——but，uponmyword。
There，lookat_that_speech，and_that_，and_that_。
HowamIevertolookhiminthefaceandsaysuchthings？
Couldyoudoit？Butthenheisyourcousin，whichmakesallthedifference。Youmustrehearseitwithme，thatI
mayfancy_you_him，andgetonbydegrees。You_have_alookof_his_sometimes。“
“HaveI？Iwilldomybestwiththegreatestreadiness；
butImust_read_thepart，forIcansayverylittleofit。“
“_None_ofit，Isuppose。Youaretohavethebook，ofcourse。Nowforit。Wemusthavetwochairsathandforyoutobringforwardtothefrontofthestage。
There——verygoodschool-roomchairs，notmadeforatheatre，Idaresay；muchmorefittedforlittlegirlstositandkicktheirfeetagainstwhentheyarelearningalesson。
Whatwouldyourgovernessandyourunclesaytoseethemusedforsuchapurpose？CouldSirThomaslookinuponusjustnow，hewouldblesshimself，forwearerehearsingalloverthehouse。Yatesisstormingawayinthedining-room。IheardhimasIcameupstairs，andthetheatreisengagedofcoursebythoseindefatigablerehearsers，AgathaandFrederick。If_they_arenotperfect，I_shall_besurprised。Bythebye，Ilookedinuponthemfiveminutesago，andithappenedtobeexactlyatoneofthetimeswhentheyweretrying_not_toembrace，andMr。Rushworthwaswithme。Ithoughthebegantolookalittlequeer，soIturneditoffaswellasIcould，bywhisperingtohim，’WeshallhaveanexcellentAgatha；
thereissomethingso_maternal_inhermanner，socompletely_maternal_inhervoiceandcountenance。’
Wasnotthatwelldoneofme？Hebrightenedupdirectly。
Nowformysoliloquy。“
Shebegan，andFannyjoinedinwithallthemodestfeelingwhichtheideaofrepresentingEdmundwassostronglycalculatedtoinspire；butwithlooksandvoicesotrulyfeminineastobenoverygoodpictureofaman。WithsuchanAnhalt，however，MissCrawfordhadcourageenough；
andtheyhadgotthroughhalfthescene，whenatapatthedoorbroughtapause，andtheentranceofEdmund，thenextmoment，suspendeditall。
Surprise，consciousness，andpleasureappearedineachofthethreeonthisunexpectedmeeting；andasEdmundwascomeontheverysamebusinessthathadbroughtMissCrawford，consciousnessandpleasurewerelikelytobemorethanmomentaryin_them_。Hetoohadhisbook，andwasseekingFanny，toaskhertorehearsewithhim，andhelphimtopreparefortheevening，withoutknowingMissCrawfordtobeinthehouse；andgreatwasthejoyandanimationofbeingthusthrowntogether，ofcomparingschemes，andsympathisinginpraiseofFanny’skindoffices。
_She_couldnotequalthemintheirwarmth。_Her_spiritssankundertheglowoftheirs，andshefeltherselfbecomingtoonearlynothingtobothtohaveanycomfortinhavingbeensoughtbyeither。Theymustnowrehearsetogether。
Edmundproposed，urged，entreatedit，tillthelady，notveryunwillingatfirst，couldrefusenolonger，andFannywaswantedonlytopromptandobservethem。
Shewasinvested，indeed，withtheofficeofjudgeandcritic，andearnestlydesiredtoexerciseitandtellthemalltheirfaults；butfromdoingsoeveryfeelingwithinhershrank——shecouldnot，wouldnot，darednotattemptit：
hadshebeenotherwisequalifiedforcriticism，herconsciencemusthaverestrainedherfromventuringatdisapprobation。
Shebelievedherselftofeeltoomuchofitintheaggregateforhonestyorsafetyinparticulars。Topromptthemmustbeenoughforher；anditwassometimes_more_thanenough；
forshecouldnotalwayspayattentiontothebook。
Inwatchingthemsheforgotherself；and，agitatedbytheincreasingspiritofEdmund’smanner，hadonceclosedthepageandturnedawayexactlyashewantedhelp。
Itwasimputedtoveryreasonableweariness，andshewasthankedandpitied；butshedeservedtheirpitymorethanshehopedtheywouldeversurmise。Atlastthescenewasover，andFannyforcedherselftoaddherpraisetothecomplimentseachwasgivingtheother；andwhenagainaloneandabletorecallthewhole，shewasinclinedtobelievetheirperformancewould，indeed，havesuchnatureandfeelinginitasmustensuretheircredit，andmakeitaverysufferingexhibitiontoherself。