Sir Thomas comes to Fannie’s room. The first thing he notices is that Fanny’s room is without a fire, though there is snow on the ground outside. When he asks why this is so, Fanny tells him there has never been one since she has been there. Sir Thomas cannot believe this to be true. Certainly it is an oversight. When Fanny insinuates that it has been Mrs. Norris’s doing, Sir Thomas stops her. He defends Mrs. Norris, stating that he knows she is harsh but that it has all been for Fanny’s benefit. Mrs. Norris’s intent has always been to best prepare Fanny for the world.

After this brief discussion, Sir Thomas tells Fanny that Henry Crawford has asked for Fanny’s hand in marriage. He thinks he is delivering wonderful news to his niece, so Sir Thomas is completely caught off guard when Fanny tells him she must refuse Mr. Crawford’s offer.

Sir Thomas insists on knowing why. Here is a young man who could offer Fanny more than she could have dreamed of. Mr. Crawford is financially secure and of the best manners, Sir Thomas reminds Fanny. Because Fanny cannot fully disclose her reasons for not wanting to marry Henry, she gives vague answers that reflect poorly on herself. Sir Thomas concludes that Fanny is acting very foolishly, that she is being very selfish. She is not thinking about the benefit her marriage would bring to her family.

Fanny cannot, of course, tell her uncle she is in love with Edmund, neither can she relate to him the behavior Henry has exhibited with Maria and Julia. Because Sir Thomas has not witnessed the suggestive conversations in which Henry took a leading role and has not seen how Henry behaved around Sir Thomas’s betrothed daughter, Fanny has no recourse but to endure her uncle’s low opinion of her. All that Fanny can say is that she does not like Henry.

Before leaving Fanny’s room, Sir Thomas confesses that his concept of her has completely changed. What he sees now is that she is willful and full of self-conceit and ingratitude. Fanny is heart-broken. Sir Thomas, since his return, had been so kind to her. Now she has lost his respect. When she mutters, “I’m sorry,” Sir Thomas says he certainly hopes so.

Sir Thomas then insists that Fanny come downstairs with him and express her refusal to Henry. Sir Thomas says that Henry deserves to hear it directly from her. Fanny is so forlorn she cannot stop crying, so Sir Thomas relents.

After Sir Thomas leaves, Fanny again feels very lonely. There is no one who will speak in her defense. Later, after coming back from a walk, she finds a fire has been lit in her room. One of the maids tells her that Sir Thomas gave the order that there was to be a fire lit every day from then on. Later at the dinner table, though still confused as to why Fanny has refused Mr. Crawford’s proposal, Sir Thomas looks at Lady Bertram and laments that he did not marry out of affection for his wife.