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。“