Therewas，indeed，sodeepablushoverFanny’sfaceatthatmomentasmightwarrantstrongsuspicioninapredisposedmind。
“Excellentcreature!Iwillnotteaseyou。Everythingshalltakeitscourse。But，dearFanny，youmustallowthatyouwerenotsoabsolutelyunpreparedtohavethequestionaskedasyourcousinfancies。Itisnotpossiblebutthatyoumusthavehadsomethoughtsonthesubject，somesurmisesastowhatmightbe。Youmusthaveseenthathewastryingtopleaseyoubyeveryattentioninhispower。
Wasnothedevotedtoyouattheball？Andthenbeforetheball，thenecklace!Oh!youreceiveditjustasitwasmeant。Youwereasconsciousasheartcoulddesire。
Irememberitperfectly。“
“Doyoumean，then，thatyourbrotherknewofthenecklacebeforehand？Oh!MissCrawford，_that_wasnotfair。“
“Knewofit!Itwashisowndoingentirely，hisownthought。
Iamashamedtosaythatithadneverenteredmyhead，butIwasdelightedtoactonhisproposalforbothyoursakes。“
“Iwillnotsay，“repliedFanny，“thatIwasnothalfafraidatthetimeofitsbeingso，fortherewassomethinginyourlookthatfrightenedme，butnotatfirst；
Iwasasunsuspiciousofitatfirst——indeed，indeedIwas。
ItisastrueasthatIsithere。AndhadIhadanideaofit，nothingshouldhaveinducedmetoacceptthenecklace。
Astoyourbrother’sbehaviour，certainlyIwassensibleofaparticularity：Ihadbeensensibleofitsomelittletime，perhapstwoorthreeweeks；butthenIconsidereditasmeaningnothing：Iputitdownassimplybeinghisway，andwasasfarfromsupposingasfromwishinghimtohaveanyseriousthoughtsofme。Ihadnot，MissCrawford，beenaninattentiveobserverofwhatwaspassingbetweenhimandsomepartofthisfamilyinthesummerandautumn。
Iwasquiet，butIwasnotblind。IcouldnotbutseethatMr。Crawfordallowedhimselfingallantrieswhichdidmeannothing。“
“Ah!Icannotdenyit。Hehasnowandthenbeenasadflirt，andcaredverylittleforthehavochemightbemakinginyoungladies’affections。Ihaveoftenscoldedhimforit，butitishisonlyfault；andthereisthistobesaid，thatveryfewyoungladieshaveanyaffectionsworthcaringfor。Andthen，Fanny，thegloryoffixingonewhohasbeenshotatbysomany；ofhavingitinone’spowertopayoffthedebtsofone’ssex!Oh!Iamsureitisnotinwoman’snaturetorefusesuchatriumph。“
Fannyshookherhead。“Icannotthinkwellofamanwhosportswithanywoman’sfeelings；andtheremayoftenbeagreatdealmoresufferedthanastander-bycanjudgeof。“
“Idonotdefendhim。Ileavehimentirelytoyourmercy，andwhenhehasgotyouatEveringham，Idonotcarehowmuchyoulecturehim。ButthisIwillsay，thathisfault，thelikingtomakegirlsalittleinlovewithhim，isnothalfsodangeroustoawife’shappinessasatendencytofallinlovehimself，whichhehasneverbeenaddictedto。
AndIdoseriouslyandtrulybelievethatheisattachedtoyouinawaythatheneverwastoanywomanbefore；
thathelovesyouwithallhisheart，andwillloveyouasnearlyforeveraspossible。Ifanymaneverlovedawomanforever，IthinkHenrywilldoasmuchforyou。“
Fannycouldnotavoidafaintsmile，buthadnothingtosay。
“IcannotimagineHenryevertohavebeenhappier，“
continuedMarypresently，“thanwhenhehadsucceededingettingyourbrother’scommission。“
ShehadmadeasurepushatFanny’sfeelingshere。
“Oh!yes。Howvery，verykindofhim。“
“Iknowhemusthaveexertedhimselfverymuch，forIknowthepartieshehadtomove。TheAdmiralhatestrouble，andscornsaskingfavours；andtherearesomanyyoungmen’sclaimstobeattendedtointhesameway，thatafriendshipandenergy，notverydetermined，iseasilyputby。WhatahappycreatureWilliammustbe!
Iwishwecouldseehim。“
PoorFanny’smindwasthrownintothemostdistressingofallitsvarieties。TherecollectionofwhathadbeendoneforWilliamwasalwaysthemostpowerfuldisturberofeverydecisionagainstMr。Crawford；
andshesatthinkingdeeplyofittillMary，whohadbeenfirstwatchinghercomplacently，andthenmusingonsomethingelse，suddenlycalledherattentionbysaying：
“Ishouldliketosittalkingwithyouhereallday，butwemustnotforgettheladiesbelow，andsogood-bye，mydear，myamiable，myexcellentFanny，forthoughweshallnominallypartinthebreakfast-parlour，Imusttakeleaveofyouhere。AndIdotakeleave，longingforahappyreunion，andtrustingthatwhenwemeetagain，itwillbeundercircumstanceswhichmayopenourheartstoeachotherwithoutanyremnantorshadowofreserve。“
Avery，verykindembrace，andsomeagitationofmanner，accompaniedthesewords。
“Ishallseeyourcousinintownsoon：hetalksofbeingtheretolerablysoon；andSirThomas，Idaresay，inthecourseofthespring；andyoureldestcousin，andtheRushworths，andJulia，Iamsureofmeetingagainandagain，andallbutyou。Ihavetwofavourstoask，Fanny：oneisyourcorrespondence。Youmustwritetome。
Andtheother，thatyouwilloftencallonMrs。Grant，andmakeheramendsformybeinggone。“
Thefirst，atleast，ofthesefavoursFannywouldrathernothavebeenasked；butitwasimpossibleforhertorefusethecorrespondence；itwasimpossibleforherevennottoaccedetoitmorereadilythanherownjudgmentauthorised。
Therewasnoresistingsomuchapparentaffection。
Herdispositionwaspeculiarlycalculatedtovalueafondtreatment，andfromhavinghithertoknownsolittleofit，shewasthemoreovercomebyMissCrawford’s。Besides，therewasgratitudetowardsher，forhavingmadetheir_tete-a-tete_somuchlesspainfulthanherfearshadpredicted。
Itwasover，andshehadescapedwithoutreproachesandwithoutdetection。Hersecretwasstillherown；
andwhilethatwasthecase，shethoughtshecouldresignherselftoalmosteverything。
Intheeveningtherewasanotherparting。HenryCrawfordcameandsatsometimewiththem；andherspiritsnotbeingpreviouslyinthestrongeststate，herheartwassoftenedforawhiletowardshim，becausehereallyseemedtofeel。
Quiteunlikehisusualself，hescarcelysaidanything。
Hewasevidentlyoppressed，andFannymustgrieveforhim，thoughhopingshemightneverseehimagaintillhewerethehusbandofsomeotherwoman。
Whenitcametothemomentofparting，hewouldtakeherhand，hewouldnotbedeniedit；hesaidnothing，however，ornothingthatsheheard，andwhenhehadlefttheroom，shewasbetterpleasedthatsuchatokenoffriendshiphadpassed。
OnthemorrowtheCrawfordsweregone。
Mr。Crawfordgone，SirThomas’snextobjectwasthatheshouldbemissed；andheentertainedgreathopethathisniecewouldfindablankinthelossofthoseattentionswhichatthetimeshehadfelt，orfancied，anevil。
Shehadtastedofconsequenceinitsmostflatteringform；
andhedidhopethatthelossofit，thesinkingagainintonothing，wouldawakenverywholesomeregretsinhermind。Hewatchedherwiththisidea；buthecouldhardlytellwithwhatsuccess。Hehardlyknewwhethertherewereanydifferenceinherspiritsornot。
Shewasalwayssogentleandretiringthatheremotionswerebeyondhisdiscrimination。Hedidnotunderstandher：
hefeltthathedidnot；andthereforeappliedtoEdmundtotellhimhowshestoodaffectedonthepresentoccasion，andwhethersheweremoreorlesshappythanshehadbeen。
Edmunddidnotdiscernanysymptomsofregret，andthoughthisfatheralittleunreasonableinsupposingthefirstthreeorfourdayscouldproduceany。
WhatchieflysurprisedEdmundwas，thatCrawford’ssister，thefriendandcompanionwhohadbeensomuchtoher，shouldnotbemorevisiblyregretted。HewonderedthatFannyspokesoseldomof_her_，andhadsolittlevoluntarilytosayofherconcernatthisseparation。
Alas!itwasthissister，thisfriendandcompanion，whowasnowthechiefbaneofFanny’scomfort。IfshecouldhavebelievedMary’sfuturefateasunconnectedwithMansfieldasshewasdeterminedthebrother’sshouldbe，ifshecouldhavehopedherreturnthithertobeasdistantasshewasmuchinclinedtothinkhis，shewouldhavebeenlightofheartindeed；butthemoresherecollectedandobserved，themoredeeplywassheconvincedthateverythingwasnowinafairertrainforMissCrawford’smarryingEdmundthanithadeverbeenbefore。Onhissidetheinclinationwasstronger，onherslessequivocal。Hisobjections，thescruplesofhisintegrity，seemedalldoneaway，nobodycouldtellhow；