Mansfield Park "The Crawfords' redemption"

Chapter 14

Soon after lunch, she saw Henry leave the room with her uncle, and she knew they would be setting a date for their wedding, and discuss the terms of the marriage and the location and size of the wedding. She still didn't care, she just wanted to go on with her life as it was now, and liked the idea of being married to Henry, whose passionate nature she had seen glimpses of, and which she longed to call forth to finally meet his true self. She loved his controlled self, but she had a feeling she would love his undisguised nature even more.

Busy helping her aunt Bertram with some needlework, for the first time in at least a month, she saw Henry return and seek her out. He asked her to meet him in the shrubbery, so when the difficult part of the work was done, she handed it back to her aunt and said: 'I think you will find it manageable again, aunt Bertram,' and she got up to leave. But her aunt detained her for a short moment, to say: 'Thank you very much, dear Fanny. I have missed you, and not just because you are so patient at working out the really tiny bits, that I cannot see well anymore.'

Fanny was touched and smiled fondly at her aunt, then left for the shrubbery, where she found Henry awaiting her eagerly. They embraced ardently, and just enjoyed the other's closeness for a while, Fanny feeling totally free to relish Henry's familiar scent, and his firm upper body with the well-developed muscles of a sportsman. She really wanted to reach her hand under his shirt, but felt this was taking things way too far, so she merely ran it over his muscled chest and arms with his shirt still between his flesh and her hand, but even this gesture caused him to shiver with suppressed fervour.

He let out a deep sigh, and as he started to speak, his voice still sounded rather husky: 'Your uncle was very happy with my mission, and he suggested we set a date in one month, same as Edmund and Mary. He wants you to be married from this house, and excepting trips, would love for you to live here until the day of your marriage. He has extended his invitation to me for that period, which I was happy to accept. I may need to go to Everingham once in that time, but I hoped you would accompany me on such a trip.' By now his voice was back to normal, no passion could survive so many dry facts, not even Henry's.

He continued: 'Edmund and Mary are to go to London with us until Mary's visit with the Frasers is up. Edmund will then move to Thornton Lacey, where she will join him directly after the wedding, and she is coming back to Mrs Grant to be close to Edmund until then. So we will be seeing them almost every day.

Will you be content to live at Everingham for most of the year, or do you want me to let it out and lease a property in this county, to be closer to your family? And do you want a house in town? And what about the wedding, I told Sir Thomas you'd probably want a small affair, did I guess correctly? 'Fanny embraced him and whispered in his ear: 'I really don't care, I'm happy wherever you are. And I don't think I can live in town for long periods of time. And you were right about the marriage, I don't care about the ceremony, so the fewer the guests, the quicker we will be together.'

This remark just did for Henry, he could not contain his elation hearing this from her mouth, after believing she would never love him, he had her to himself so absolutely. He kneeled at her feet, and laid his head in her lap, surrendering to her completely, his life so totally hers for the last months that he barely remembered the time when he liked to break a heart here and there.

She could not resist his gesture, and stroked his dark locks, running her hand through them as she had wanted to before. He closed his eyes and savoured the gentle touch, feeling his heart swell at his good fortune.

After a few moments he looked up at her and broke the silence with a feeling voice: 'Fanny, will you allow me to have a few really beautiful dresses made for you, so I can show you off in London?' She replied: 'Had you asked me at the time when my uncle gave the ball for William and me I would have been aghast by the very idea. But I am no longer afraid to be seen or judged, and I have great confidence in your taste, since seeing your house and grounds, and seeing you on that lovely black cob when you couldn't ride your hunter. So, yes, you may gild me as you like, and you may be as gallant as you will to me.'