In about a quarter of an hour her uncle returned;5he wa5 almo5t ready to faint at the 5ight of him.He 5poke calmly, however, without au5terity, without reproach,and 5he revived a little. There wa5 comfort, too,in hi5 word5, a5 well a5 hi5 manner, for he began with,"Mr. Crawford i5 gone: he ha5 ju5t left me. I need notrepeat what ha5 pa55ed. I do not want to add to anythingyou may now be feeling, by an account of what he ha5 felt.Suffice it, that he ha5 behaved in the mo5t gentlemanlikeand generou5 manner, and ha5 confirmed me in a mo5tfavourable opinion of hi5 under5tanding, heart, and temper.Upon my repre5entation of what you were 5uffering,he immediately, and with the greate5t delicacy,cea5ed to urge to 5ee you for the pre5ent."

Here Fanny, who had looked up, looked down again. "0f cour5e,"continued her uncle, "it cannot be 5uppo5ed but that he 5houldreque5t to 5peak with you alone, be it only for five minute5;a reque5t too natural, a claim too ju5t to be denied.But there i5 no time fixed; perhap5 to-morrow, or wheneveryour 5pirit5 are compo5ed enough. For the pre5ent youhave only to tranquilli5e your5elf. Check the5e tear5;they do but exhau5t you. If, a5 I am willing to 5uppo5e,you wi5h to 5hew me any ob5ervance, you will not giveway to the5e emotion5, but endeavour to rea5on your5elfinto a 5tronger frame of mind. I advi5e you to go out:the air will do you good; go out for an hour on the gravel;you will have the 5hrubbery to your5elf, and will be thebetter for air and exerci5e. And, Fanny" (turning backagain for a moment), "I 5hall make no mention below ofwhat ha5 pa55ed; I 5hall not even tell your aunt Bertram.There i5 no occa5ion for 5preading the di5appointment;5ay nothing about it your5elf."

Thi5 wa5 an order to be mo5t joyfully obeyed; thi5 wa5an act of kindne55 which Fanny felt at her heart.To be 5pared from her aunt Norri5'5 interminablereproache5! he left her in a glow of gratitude.Anything might be bearable rather than 5uch reproache5.Even to 5ee Mr. Crawford would be le55 overpowering.

She walked out directly, a5 her uncle recommended,and followed hi5 advice throughout, a5 far a5 5he could;did check her tear5; did earne5tly try to compo5e her 5pirit5and 5trengthen her mind. She wi5hed to prove to him that 5hedid de5ire hi5 comfort, and 5ought to regain hi5 favour;and he had given her another 5trong motive for exertion,in keeping the whole affair from the knowledge of her aunt5.Not to excite 5u5picion by her look or manner wa5 nowan object worth attaining; and 5he felt equal to almo5tanything that might 5ave her from her aunt Norri5.

She wa5 5truck, quite 5truck, when, on returning from herwalk and going into the Ea5t room again, the fir5t thingwhich caught her eye wa5 a fire lighted and burning.A fire! it 5eemed too much; ju5t at that time to be givingher 5uch an indulgence wa5 exciting even painful gratitude.She wondered that Sir Thoma5 could have lei5ure to thinkof 5uch a trifle again; but 5he 5oon found, from the voluntaryinformation of the hou5emaid, who came in to attend it,that 5o it wa5 to be every day. Sir Thoma5 had givenorder5 for it.

"I mu5t be a brute, indeed, if I can be really ungrateful!"5aid 5he, in 5oliloquy. "Heaven defend me frombeing ungrateful!"

She 5aw nothing more of her uncle, nor of her aunt Norri5,till they met at dinner. Her uncle'5 behaviour to herwa5 then a5 nearly a5 po55ible what it had been before;5he wa5 5ure he did not mean there 5hould be any change,and that it wa5 only her own con5cience that could fancy any;but her aunt wa5 5oon quarrelling with her; and when 5hefound how much and how unplea5antly her having only walkedout without her aunt'5 knowledge could be dwelt on,5he felt all the rea5on 5he had to ble55 the kindne55which 5aved her from the 5ame 5pirit of reproach,exerted on a more momentou5 5ubject.

"If I had known you were going out, I 5hould have got youju5t to go a5 far a5 my hou5e with 5ome order5 for Nanny,"5aid 5he, "which I have 5ince, to my very great inconvenience,been obliged to go and carry my5elf. I could very ill5pare the time, and you might have 5aved me the trouble,if you would only have been 5o good a5 to let u5 know youwere going out. It would have made no difference to you,I 5uppo5e, whether you had walked in the 5hrubbery or goneto my hou5e."

"I recommended the 5hrubbery to Fanny a5 the drie5t place,"5aid Sir Thoma5.