Austen Said:

Fanny said

and would have moved too, but this was not suffered.

Edmund urged

with an earnestness which she could not resist, and she was left on the bench to think with pleasure of her cousin's care, but with great regret that she was not stronger. She watched them till they had turned the corner, and listened till all sound of them had ceased.

A quarter of an hour, twenty minutes, passed away, and Fanny was still thinking of Edmund, Miss Crawford, and herself, without interruption from any one. She began to be surprised at being left so long, and to listen with an anxious desire of hearing their steps and their voices again. She listened, and at length she heard; she heard voices and feet approaching; but she had just satisfied herself that it was not those she wanted, when Miss Bertram, Mr. Rushworth, and Mr. Crawford issued from the same path which she had trod herself, and were before her.

and

were the first salutations. She told her story.

cried her cousin,

Then seating herself with a gentleman on each side, she resumed the conversation which had engaged them before, and discussed the possibility of improvements with much animation. Nothing was fixed on; but Henry Crawford was full of ideas and projects, and, generally speaking, whatever he proposed was immediately approved, first by her, and then by Mr. Rushworth, whose principal business seemed to be to hear the others, and who scarcely risked an original thought of his own beyond a wish that they had seen his friend Smith's place.

After some minutes spent in this way,

Miss Bertram,

observing the iron gate,

expressed a wish of

in Henry Crawford's opinion;

Go therefore they must to that knoll, and through that gate; but the gate was locked.

Mr. Rushworth wished

but still this did not remove the present evil. They could not get through; and as Miss Bertram's inclination for so doing did by no means lessen, it ended in

Mr. Rushworth's declaring outright that

said Mr. Crawford, when he was gone.

speaking rather lower,

After a moment's embarrassment the lady replied,

This was followed by a short silence. Miss Bertram began again.

he replied;

smiling,

As she spoke, and it was with expression, she walked to the gate: he followed her.

Fanny, feeling all this to be wrong, could not help making an effort to prevent it.

she cried;

Her cousin was safe on the other side while these words were spoken, and, smiling with all the good-humour of success, she said,

Fanny was again left to her solitude, and with no increase of pleasant feelings, for she was sorry for almost all that she had seen and heard, astonished at Miss Bertram, and angry with Mr. Crawford. By taking a circuitous route, and, as it appeared to her, very unreasonable direction to the knoll, they were soon beyond her eye; and for some minutes longer she remained without sight or sound of any companion. She seemed to have the little wood all to herself. She could almost have thought that Edmund and Miss Crawford had left it, but that it was impossible for Edmund to forget her so entirely.

She was again roused from disagreeable musings by sudden footsteps: somebody was coming at a quick pace down the principal walk. She expected Mr. Rushworth, but it was Julia, who, hot and out of breath, and with a look of disappointment, cried out on seeing her,

Fanny explained.

looking eagerly into the park.

This was a most unjust reflection, but Fanny could allow for it, and let it pass: Julia was vexed, and her temper was hasty; but she felt that it would not last, and therefore, taking no notice, only

asked her if

And she immediately scrambled across the fence, and walked away, not attending to

Fanny's last question of whether

The sort of dread in which Fanny now sat of seeing Mr. Rushworth prevented her thinking so much of their continued absence, however, as she might have done. She felt that he had been very ill-used, and was quite unhappy in having to communicate what had passed. He joined her within five minutes after Julia's exit; and though she made the best of the story, he was evidently mortified and displeased in no common degree. At first he scarcely said anything; his looks only expressed his extreme surprise and vexation, and he walked to the gate and stood there, without seeming to know what to do.

said he sullenly;

And he sat down with a most gloomy countenance by Fanny.

said she;

And she longed to be able to say something more to the purpose.

After an interval of silence,

said he.

This could not be denied, and Fanny was silenced. After another pause, he went on——

A small sigh escaped Fanny here, and she did not know how to contradict him.

He got up and walked to the gate again, and

Fanny thought she discerned in his standing there an indication of relenting, which encouraged her to another attempt, and she said, therefore,

She found herself more successful in sending away than in retaining a companion. Mr. Rushworth was worked on. "

said he,

And letting himself out, he walked off without farther ceremony.