All this became gradually evident, and gradually...
All this became gradually evident, and gradually placed Susan
before her sister as an object of mingled compassion and respect
That her manner was wrong, however, at times very wrong, her
measures often ill-chosen and ill-timed, and her looks and language
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very often indefensible, Fanny could not cease to feel; but she began
to hope they might be rectifiedSusan, she found, looked up to her
and wished for her good opinion; and new as anything like an office
of authority was to Fanny, new as it was to imagine herself capable
of guiding or informing any one, she did resolve to give occasional
hints to Susan, and endeavour to exercise for her advantage the juster
notions of what was due to everybody, and what would be wisest for
herself, which her own more favoured education had fixed in her
Her influence, or at least the consciousness and use of it, originated
in an act of kindness by Susan, which, after many hesitations
of delicacy, she at last worked herself up toIt had very early occurred
to her that a small sum of money might, perhaps, restore
peace for ever on the sore subject of the silver knife, canvassed as it
now was continually, and the riches which she was in possession of
herself, her uncle having given her £10 at parting, made her as able
as she was willing to be generousBut she was so wholly unused to
confer favours, except on the very poor, so unpractised in removing
evils, or bestowing kindnesses among her equals, and so fearful of
appearing to elevate herself as a great lady at home, that it took
some time to determine that it would not be unbecoming in her to
make such a presentIt was made, however, at last: a silver knife was
bought for Betsey, and accepted with great delight, its newness giving
it every advantage over the other that could be desired; Susan
was established in the full possession of her own, Betsey handsomely
declaring that now she had got one so much prettier herself, she
should never want that again; and no reproach seemed conveyed to
the equally satisfied mother, which Fanny had almost feared to be
impossibleThe deed thoroughly answered: a source of domestic prada fairy altercation
was entirely done away, and it was the means of opening
Susan’s heart to her, and giving her something more to love and be
interested inSusan shewed that she had delicacy: pleased as she was
to be mistress of property which she had been struggling for at least
two years, she yet feared that her sister’s judgment had been against
her, and that a reproof was designed her for having so struggled as to
make the purchase necessary for the tranquillity of the houseShe acknowledged her fears, blamed herself
for having contended so warmly; and from that hour Fanny,
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understanding the worth of her disposition and perceiving how fully
she was inclined to seek her good opinion and refer to her judgment,
began to feel again the blessing of affection, and to entertain
the hope of being useful to a mind so much in need of help, and so
much deserving itShe gave advice, advice too sound to be resisted
by a good understanding, and given so mildly and considerately as
not to irritate an imperfect temper, and she had the happiness of
observing its good effects not unfrequentlyMore was not expected
by one who, while seeing all the obligation and expediency of submission
and forbearance, saw also with sympathetic acuteness of
feeling all that must be hourly grating to a girl like SusanHer greatest
wonder on the subject soon became—not that Susan should
have been provoked into disrespect and impatience against her better
knowledge—but that so much better knowledge, so many good
notions should have been hers at all; and that, brought up in the
midst of negligence and error, she should have formed such proper
opinions of what ought to be; she, who had had no cousin Edmund
to direct her thoughts or fix her principles
The intimacy thus begun between them was a material advantage
to eachBy sitting together upstairs, they avoided a great deal of the
disturbance of the house; Fanny had peace, and Susan learned to
think it no misfortune to be quietly employedThey sat without a
fire; but that was a privation familiar even to Fanny, and she suffered
the less because reminded by it of the East roomIt was the
only chanel jewelry point of resemblanceIn space, light, furniture, and prospect,
there was nothing alike in the two apartments; and she often heaved
a sigh at the remembrance of all her books and boxes, and various
comforts thereBy degrees the girls came to spend the chief of the
morning upstairs, at first only in working and talking, but after a
few days, the remembrance of the said books grew so potent and
stimulative that Fanny found it impossible not to try for books again
There were none in her father’s house; but wealth is luxurious and
daring, and some of hers found its way to a circulating libraryShe
became a subscriber; amazed at being anything in propria persona,
amazed at her own doings in every way, to be a renter, a chuser of
books! And to be having any one’s improvement in view in her choice!
But so it wasSusan had read nothing, and Fanny longed to give her
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a share in her own first pleasures, and inspire a taste for the biography
and poetry which she delighted in herself
In this occupation she hoped, moreover, to bury some of the recollections
of Mansfield, which were too apt to seize her mind if her
fingers only were busy; and, especially at this time, hoped it might
be useful in diverting her thoughts from pursuing Edmund to London,
whither, on the authority of her aunt’s last letter, she knew he
was goneShe had no doubt of what would ensueThe promised
notification was hanging over her headThe postman’s knock within
the neighbourhood was beginning to bring its daily terrors, and if
reading could banish the idea for even half an hour, it was something
gained
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CHAPTER XLI
A WEEK WAS GONE since Edmund might be supposed in town, and
Fanny had heard nothing of himThere were three different conclusions
to be drawn from his silence, between which her mind was
in fluctuation; each of them at times being held the most probable
Either his going had been again delayed, or he had yet procured no
opportunity of seeing Miss Crawford alone, or he was too happy for
letter-writing!
One morning, about this time, Fanny having now been nearly four
weeks from Mansfield, a point which she never failed balenciaga designer to think over
and calculate every day, as she and Susan were preparing to remove, as
usual, upstairs, they were stopped by the knock of a visitor, whom
they felt they could not avoid, from Rebecca’s alertness in going to the
door, a duty which always interested her beyond any other
It was a gentleman’s voice; it was a voice that Fanny was just turning
pale about, when MrCrawford walked into the room
Good sense, like hers, will always act when really called upon; and
she found that she had been able to name him to her mother, and
recall her remembrance of the name, as that of “William’s friend,”
though she could not previously have believed herself capable of
uttering a syllable at such a momentThe consciousness of his being
known there only as William’s friend was some supportHaving
introduced him, however, and being all reseated, the terrors that
occurred of what this visit might lead to were overpowering, and
she fancied herself on the point of fainting away
While trying to keep herself alive, their visitor, who had at first
approached her with as animated a countenance as ever, was wisely
and kindly keeping his eyes away, and giving her time to recover,
while he devoted himself entirely to her mother, addressing her, and
attending to her with the utmost politeness and propriety, at the
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same time with a degree of friendliness, of interest at least, which
was making his manner perfectPrice’s manners were also at their bestWarmed by the sight
of such a friend to her son, and regulated by the wish of appearing
to advantage before him, she was overflowing with gratitude—artless,
maternal gratitude—which could not be unpleasingPrice
was out, which she regretted very muchFanny was just recovered
enough to feel that she could not regret it; for to her many other
sources of uneasiness was added the severe one of shame for the
home in which he found herShe might scold herself for the weakness,
but there was no scolding it awayShe was ashamed, and she
would have been yet more ashamed of her father than of all the rest
They talked of William, a subject on which MrsPrice could never
tire; and MrCrawford fake chanel bag was as warm in his commendation as even
her heart could wishShe felt that she had never seen so agreeable a
man in her life; and was only astonished to find that, so great and so
agreeable as he was, he should be come down to Portsmouth neither
on a visit to the port-admiral, nor the commissioner, nor yet
with the intention of going over to the island, nor of seeing the
dockyardNothing of all that she had been used to think of as the
proof of importance, or the employment of wealth, had brought
him to PortsmouthHe had reached it late the night before, was
come for a day or two, was staying at the Crown, had accidentally
met with a navy officer or two of his acquaintance since his arrival,
but had no object of that kind in coming
By the time he had given all this information, it was not unreasonable
to suppose that Fanny might be looked at and spoken to;
and she was tolerably able to bear his eye, and hear that he had
spent half an hour with his sister the evening before his leaving
London; that she had sent her best and kindest love, but had had no
time for writing; that he thought himself lucky in seeing Mary for
even half an hour, having spent scarcely twenty-four hours in London,
after his return from Norfolk, before he set off again; that her
cousin Edmund was in town, had been in town, he understood, a
few days; that he had not seen him himself, but that he was well,
had left them all well at Mansfield, and was to dine, as yesterday,
with the Frasers
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Fanny listened collectedly, even to the last-mentioned circumstance;
nay, it seemed a relief to her worn mind to be at any certainty;
and the words, “then by this time it is all settled,” passed
internally, without more evidence of emotion than a faint blush
After talking a little more about Mansfield, a subject in which her
interest was most apparent, Crawford began to hint at the expediency
of an early walk“It was a lovely morning, and at that season of
the year a fine morning so often turned off, that it was wisest for
everybody not to delay their exercise”; and such hints producing
nothing, he soon proceeded to a positive recommendation to gucci bag black Mr